


Change Me   (A tropey Christmas Hallmark movie)

by Shatterpath



Series: The 13 AUs of Christmas 2017 [13]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Small Town, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Party, Dogs, F/F, Falling In Love, Family Feels, I have an architecture fetish i admit it, Luthors who aren't evil, Opposites Attract, Small Towns, Snowball Fight, and even more outrageous pools, outrageous homes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-22
Updated: 2018-05-24
Packaged: 2019-02-18 17:44:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 51,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13105308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shatterpath/pseuds/Shatterpath
Summary: This is the schmoopy Hallmark movie, it will have no other purpose than AWWWW SNIFF LOOK AT THE BBS!!!!!Though admittedly, it did get rather involved...For the thirteen AUs of Christmas, my author wrote for me,A cheesy filk sung badly,Luthors who aren't evil,Sexy Space pirates,Amazing awful first date,Meeting at a fan con,Christmas at Hogwarts,Stranded with one bed,Little girls with crushes,A critically thought out ABOooooo!Soulmate inner voice,College soccer stars,A goddamn cockatoo,And a tropey Christmas Hallmark movie!





	1. 12/22/17, in the central mountains of Washington State…

**Author's Note:**

  * For [GeekyStorytelling](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GeekyStorytelling/gifts).



> And here we are, at the end of the AU adventure, with my gift to the lovely Geekystorytelling for our secret santa exchange. It will be no shock to anyone that this rambled on far past where I thought it would and became another longfic. Still, the setting was interesting and this couple never stops being lovely and cute!

"Lex! I don't care that he's been your pal since middle school! The guy is a dangerous hack and if his psychopath of a father in law can’t handle what I put in print that's not my prob-- dammit, now what!"

Normally, Lena would have ignored it and taken more of her frustration out on her brother, but the name on her phone gave her pause.

"Lex, I need to take this. Please, for the love of democracy, please be smart? Are your political contacts really worth it?"

His sigh was resigned, but somehow still warm.

"Look, I promise I'll be there for the Slatewater unveiling to help make you look good."

"You always make me look good."

It was good to hear the gentle teasing note after the stressful conversation and Lena didn't fight the little tug of smile. "Flatterer. I'll talk with you later. Love you."

"Love you too, sis."

Taking a deep breath, she shook off her jangled nerves with practiced ease and tapped her phone. "Go, Jess."

"Umm… Miss Luthor, I know you don't want to hear this, but…"

Lena hated the stammering and stalling and Jess had been in her employ for nearly a decade because she was nearly unflappable. This behavior did not bode well.

"Just spit it out!"

The rush of words gave away the case of sheer nerves her assistant was under. "There was an equipment malfunction at the printing plant and there's no way the new shipment will be out before Christmas."

The car shimmied dangerously on the highway and a blasting horn made Lena swallow a curse and drop the phone. Luckily, it was on the mic function, though she would bet that the clattering carried through the connection.

The silence carried on for long enough that it was becoming unbearable.

"So let me get this straight. It's less than a week before Christmas and all I have to work with on this godforsaken tour is what is in my trunk and whatever was shipped to Seattle?"

"Yes ma'am."

Jess had never sounded so subdued. She knew this was important to her boss, seen the look of delight over holding the bound pages in her hand months ago, enjoyed the pleasure of acceptance and even adulation as sales climbed steadily and people wanted to know more. To the youngest Luthor, it was a balm to her wounded soul.

Snow appeared as little flakes in the dimming light of evening and Lena wanted to drum her fists on the steering wheel just to have an outlet for her frustrated rage. She needed calm and reached back into her memories to find it. Her father's study that smelled of wood smoke and leather and cologne and the occasional pipe of tobacco. Her favorite place in all the world was the little cubby beneath his enormous desk where she would hide and play and dream. Sometimes he would work with her there. Neatly pleated trousers and fancy shoes, or better, his plaid slippers, would box her in, a comfort to her small self. And he would always have a cuddle for her when she climbed into his lap in those moments when he wasn't busy. 

Lodges must smell just like that.

"Jess, I'm trapped in the middle of godforsaken nowhere in these mountains. Please tell me there's some fancy old lodge closer than Seattle where I can hole up and maybe ski a bit, but mostly be drunk and miserable for a few days."

She could almost hear Jess' baffled blink. "Uh, yes, of course, give me a moment. Where are you?"

"A few miles outside of-- hang on, there's a sign coming up-- Packwood. Where I'm pulling over, regardless how this conversation goes."

"No, that's perfect. You can backtrack to White Pass--"

"Absolutely not. If I never see Yakima again, it will be too soon. And what kind of stupid name is Yakima anyway?"

The bitchy rant ended with Jess smoothly inserting herself back in the conversation. "Or there's a famous old lodge on the side of Mount Rainier called Paradise."

"Mount Rainer. The volcano. And it's called Paradise?"

"Um, yes?"

"That is perversely perfect. You tell those people to find me a decent room until Christmas morning, I don't care if I have to buy the goddamn place. And might as well cancel the rest of my appearances before Christmas seeing as the merchandise has evaporated into the fog of incompetence."

Another horn blast nearly scared her into dropping the phone again and this time she did cuss.

"Paradise Lodge for three nights and cancel the rest of the tour. Understood Miss Luthor. I'll call you back the moment I have confirmation."

"I'll be waiting."

In the ringing silence after the call was cut, Lena glowered hatefully at the snowflakes dancing merrily in the evening air. Traffic was already slowing and of course, she had to find herself behind an eighteen wheeler, its brake lights flashing to warn her.

Frustrated, Lena yelled at the roof and gave in to her childish urge to pound the heels of her hands on the steering wheel until they ached. 

"Just once, can't I have a nice Christmas? Just once?!"

Calm came with the melancholy and she rubbed sore hands over her face, brusquely scrubbing away the tears.

"Just once…"

A flash of sunlight broke through the heavy clouds like a spotlight for a moment, making the snowflakes twinkle like stars. 

Or Santa's smile.

\----

Memories were hazy, green on white, the air gone from a few flakes to a whirling wall of white that both entranced and endangered, the heart-pounding terror of the wheels losing their grip, things spinning and spinning, the trees reaching out for her…

It was a very vivid nightmare.

Like most dreams, it got weird, the creeping cold feeling like summer heat, breaking glass, muzzy voices, hard hands grabbing at her. One person? Many people? She had no idea. More jostling and a hard shoulder holding her above the world, blinding light like she was being abducted by aliens and the inside of an old train… with a stick shift. Maybe it was an old military vehicle with a strangely comfortable seat, because she had been in Daddy's old collectables and they were certainly anything but comfortable.

"Sorry, Daddy," she mumbled contritely. "I didn't mean to climb on your train. Please don't go…"

The ground shook and vibrated and there was a warm leg under her head and a gentle hand on her head, stroking her hair.

"Please don't go…"

Snorting and body-jerking back to life, Lena took a dizzy moment to take stock of where she was. She felt floaty and over-warm, cocooned in heavy bedding that smelled of wood smoke and machine grease and something deliciously musky with a hint of floral and baby powder… and dog.

Okay, she had to still be dreaming…

A gentle, wet touch on her fingertips said otherwise.

Blearily blinking open her eyes, Lena would have recoiled in surprise had she not been so leaden. Nose against her fingertips was the long soulful face of the most ridiculously spotted dog she had even seen. Not a Dalmatian, something fluffier, with great floppy ears. The moment her eyes fluttered, the dog whined and nosed forward again, this time just kiss-licking her fingers. She-- something about the sweet face said 'she' to Lena-- was irresistibly cute and the kissed fingers seemed to move of their own free will, petting the whiskery jowls.

There were two more dogs standing sentinel behind her freckled pal, a scruffy near-black German shepherd wearing a red bandana and a burly brindle pit bull mix with a white patched throat and chin dressed in a strangely fashionable sweater.

Seriously, what was going on?

Looking past the dogs, Lena noted that she was clearly in someone's bedroom, a claustrophobic space that was little more than a huge bed and an open bathroom door and a hulking pellet stove with a riot of clothing on hooks and a coat tree made of a cluster of actual branches.

This was definitely not a fancy lodge. She didn't know what the hell this was.

Sitting up slowly, Lena took stock of herself and found that outside of a raging headache and some all over soreness like a persistent cough leaves behind, she seemed intact. 

What had happened? She'd been talking with Jess, pulled over in the snowy, cutesy mountain town of Packwood to walk off some of her stress and wait for a return call. Leaning over her raised knees, Lena willed the hazy memories to come. Some smart-assed local had clearly been biting back comments about her low-heeled rain boots, that admittedly had her toes half frozen in the snow, but at least he knew where to point her to get her set towards Paradise.

There'd been a twisting road and towering trees and near white-out conditions that had fear starting to burn through even her hot temper and… and…

It was all very hazy after that.

Stymied on that front, her brain decided to helpfully inform her that she was somehow dressed in a fleecey tracksuit in mismatched blues and equally mismatched layers of socks. All of it clearly belonged to someone, the fabrics laundered many times and not at all new. Though at least her underthings were her own, she could tell by the feel of them, and when was the last time she had fallen asleep in her bra? Ouch…

Next to the bed was a pair of shearling boots atop their sales box and a colorful, baggy beanie handmade out of the softest yarn her fingertips had ever touched. Good thing too, because even only halfway out of the cozy bed the chill in the air was obvious. Shivering at the contrast, Lena pulled the hat down around her ears and removed all but one layer of socks before slipping her feet into the boots. While Uggs may have finally gone out of fashion, she was very happy with the warmth at the moment. 

The larger two dogs looked at one another meaningfully, the shepherd grumbling something under his breath before they moved like a single entity. The pitbull carefully removed a thick bundle of denim from a low peg while the shepherd tugged a colorful green and white striped scarf from the coat tree. While Lena watched in astonishment, they brought back the clothing and nosed them into her lap until her hands closed around them. 

It really was a bit chilly in here…

Looping the scarf around her neck seemed to bring a sense of satisfaction to the dogs and she took a better look at the denim. Lena would have never admitted it willingly, but she had always wanted a jacket like this. Real Levi's denim, lined in curly wool, an American classic. Mom would have had a heart attack if she'd so much as touched something so… plebian. Defiantly, Lena slipped into the garment and popped up the collar, snuggling into the soft warmth of it. Bliss.

The spotty spaniel remained glued to her side, bold enough to rest her head on Lena's knee. Frankly, Lena wasn't completely sure what to make of the dog, hesitantly reaching out to give just a little pet over the round of her skull. That feathery tail nearly wagged itself off the dog's butt and Lena had no idea what to do with such enthusiasm. 

Worried she might get jumped all over, Lena stood carefully, but her canine attendants were well mannered. So much so that she allowed the friendly spaniel to nose under her dangling hand. 

Still reeling a bit from the outlandish surreal quality of what was going on, Lena looked around, caught between fascinated and horrified at her surroundings. 

The crowded little room was… eclectic, the floor was a mishmash sprawl of rugs that felt inches thick, a riot of color and pattern and texture that ranged from a boring beige to something peeking in the corner that was impossibly hot pink to an oriental rug that might have been a valuable antique in a less destructive life. The walls were painted a soothing green and clad in antiqued wood wainscoting, a few beautiful landscapes painted on dramatic pieces of live-edge tree slices here and there. 

It was a very neatly controlled chaos. Something told Lena that this was a woman's space, no matter the androgyny of the clothing. If this was a man's space, he was no taller than she was and must be as gay as a daisy to be this neat.

Something big and loud roared outside and there was a rattle of metal and voices shouting. Some sort of huge diesel engine by the sounds of it, rumbled to the other side of the wall and quieted.

Lena was utterly flummoxed. 

The engine was clearly the cue that it was time to go, the shepherd leading the way and the other two gently nosing her to get a move on. Certainly, Lena was used to being managed, it was part of her life, but this was the first time she'd been managed by dogs. 

Past a cramped bathroom she barely got a glance at, was a hallway of sorts made by one of the long walls of the apartment and the big wooden box the bed resided in for warmth. The hallway was lined in shelves cluttered with hundreds of books, everything from Garfield the Cat to quantum physics. Fascinating.

White-blue light from behind the bed box came from a large window lined in-- of all the odd things-- bubble wrap. It softly illuminated a cramped little space mostly taken up by a comfy-looking leather couch with barely enough room to shuffle in between it and more shelves containing entertainment equipment, some of it old.

With dexterous paws, the shepherd opened the door and slipped out, the door clicking shut behind him. Mixed voices and a blast of frigid air swept into the room, muffled once more behind the door.

The spontaneous decision to take this little trip was really beginning to wear on her. All she wanted was a boring jaunt at a ski resort for a little exercise and a lot of drinking to make the damn holidays go by faster, was that too much to ask? Instead, she was apparently trapped in LL Bean land in a room like a dorm, albeit better decorated if one was into this sort of tree and flannel lifestyle, being bossed around by a bunch of dogs.

Still, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

The space behind the door was a large warehouse, or maybe some sort of mechanics shop? It was difficult to tell with the wall of clothing storage creating a hall of sorts and blocking her view of most of the room. The low berm of fresh snow ahead of her was unexpected, but not half as unexpected as the behemoth that had dragged it in. The old military truck was enormous, with double axels under its deck, each of them with four tires more than half Lena's height. And it had a crane on the back! A decent sized one in fact, with a person-sized control pod welded to its side. As she walked down the length of it, ignoring the neatly organized mechanic workspaces to her left, she noted a boxy passenger compartment with the lower edge of the door at the height of her collarbones, and a long hood that led to a huge snowplow. The whole rig was as long as a city bus under the heavy spattering of fresh snow.

"Later, Sweetie!"

The disembodied man's voice was followed up by the thump of a heavy door and quiet descended. The hail completely befuddled Lena until she noticed the traces of hot pink on the olive drab truck; including the word, 'Sweetie' stenciled on the door. Peeking around the hood revealed another shock, her rental car with the windshield smashed out, nose half crumpled, hood open with bright lights trained on the damage. There was a figure leaned over the engine, dressed in bulky work clothes, worn and discolored, creases worn deep into the heavy fabric. She couldn't see the person's face, just a shock of jaw-length hair, dark and with lustrous red tones caught in the bright work lights.

Apparently her strange dream had some aspects of truth to it. Fantastic.

The spotted dog padded around the snowplow to get to the other person just as a curious dog nose poking Lena in the ass ruined all pretenses of sneaking around, her undignified squawk echoing around the space. Glaring at the unrepentant pitbull, Lena turned back around to see that the stranger had knelt to pet the dog and fondle those big ears.

Then that reddish head raised and Lena froze. Not just a woman-- she was mostly expecting that-- but a strikingly attractive one. The half-smile for the dog bloomed into something more welcoming over the pretty, angular face. It tugged at something in Lena, the openness of that expression like a warm fire and a cup of good cocoa. She had a face for smiling, no matter that there was an ache to the curl of her mouth and lingering in the corners of her expressive eyes.

Standing, the mechanic walked over and Lena's feet decided they had a mind of their own and met her halfway.

"Uh… hi."

Her voice was clear and soft, niggling at Lena's hazy memories. This woman and her voice, the gigantic truck. "You… you saved me."

Now Lena had never denied her periodic pull towards the fairer sex and the appeal of attractive women, but this flannel-wearing hottie was something completely out of her wheelhouse. 

To Lena's surprise, the woman raised her hands, hesitated, and then gently palmed Lena's skull, thumbing a tender spot on her forehead that made her hiss.

"I did find you, yes. And I never could resist a damsel in distress."

Lena must have looked disgruntled, because her knight in Carhartt brown smiled that quirky little smile.

"In your defense, you couldn't have predicted that tree in the road. Big beast too. Made getting to you a real challenge. But at least it was kind enough to catch you before you went into the river."

Again, she brushed the sore spot on Lena's forehead, but this time caressingly. 

"This spot, is it a deep pain, or surface?"

"What are you, a nurse too?"

"I'm a certified EMT with the State of Washington. So, close enough."

That shut down Lena's grouching about the touching. 

"Surface, though it might be what gave me this damn headache."

"Yeah. Sharp headache, or a dull, throbbing one?"

"The latter. Mmmm…"

Honestly, Lena hadn't meant to make that low, sensual hum, but the stranger had shifted her touch, the soft, but heavily calloused skin of her thumbs smoothing over forehead, down the sides of her nose, over her cheekbones and temples. It was soothing and a little hypnotic, her eyes fluttering half closed, leaning into the caresses. When was the last time someone had touched her so tenderly?

"There, does that help?"

Blinking out of her near-hypnosis, Lena studied the warm eyes the color of rich earth. She had a strong mouth and nose, soft eyes and the cutest little dimple in her chin that Lena wanted to find out if it fit her fingertip…

Or tongue.

Shaking herself out a bit released her from the gentle hands, but it took a moment longer to realize that she had grabbed the trailing edges of that brown coat, the material and zipper stiff and cool.

"Yes… um, thank you. It's a dull pain, familiar, and a little less now, thank you."

"My pleasure. My kid sister gets migraines and that seems to help. Alex."

"Your sister is Alex?"

"No, no, I'm Alex. Um, Alex Danvers. And I know who you are already."

Lena found herself unexpectedly disappointed that once again she was being reduced to little more than her money, her fame, her name…

"I found your rental agreement when I was looking over the car, along with some other papers."

Wait, what?

Tugging lightly at the hands still gripping her coat, the surprising Alex Danvers coaxed her over to the rented Subaru.

"Your purse got thrown everywhere, but I gathered up what I could find. Unfortunately, all the rear windows were smashed out in the slide and the trunk is completely empty. Which I'm guessing is not supposed to be the case."

Finally letting go, Lena went to the car, staring at it and letting everything cascade through her aching head. There was little but random incidentals in her purse when she glanced into it, though her wallet seemed intact. But so much was gone; her clothes, her phone and documents, the laptop…

The books.

In one fell swoop, nearly Lena's entire existence had been swept away. It didn't feel quite real until she set her hand on the cool metal. An impotent rage swept through her. All that work just… gone.

"You must be starved. Let me get some food and coffee in you."

Alex's offer stopped the rising temper tantrum as effectively as water melted the Wicked Witch as Lena's stomach growled eagerly. 

Instructing the dogs to stay, Alex herded Lena to an exterior door with a glass panel set in it showing nothing but white. Beyond the door and a blast of arctic-cold air, lay a winter wonderland of snowy trees and a handful of buildings draped in Christmas lights flanking a freshly plowed road. Most likely courtesy of Sweetie the outrageous truck.

Now, Lena was pretty sure she didn't want to be wherever the hell she was, and she was a child of the urban jungle and not this postcard place, but still…

"Wow," Lena heard herself say wonderingly. "It's like a movie set."

"You are apparently our good luck charm. We'd been despairingly over the snow ever coming back."

Next door turned out to be a small diner that seemed confused as to whether it was old school Americana-kitschy, or someone's living room. Still, at least it smelled clean and homey and deliciously savory, saving Lena the trouble of running screaming into the forest.

The gaggle of locals were a mixed bag of adults ranging from perhaps mid-forties to one old woman holding court at the vast hearth that looked like she might have traded handshakes with Lewis and Clark. They sent up a happy barrage of noise that made Lena flinch back into the solid wall of Alex, who laughed and waved the crowd off.

"Give the good luck charm a chance to settle in before you dogpile her!"

Lena could only pray that was a rhetorical statement.

The squeak of vinyl against her borrowed clothes put Lena's teeth on edge and she tried not to sneer at the faded Formica of the table. Still, the seat overlooked the picturesque view outside and maybe, just maybe, she could catch her breath and figure out what the hell was going on around her. 

"Animal or vegetable?"

Alex hadn't sat down, instead asking the odd question, a small smile on her face.

"Oh, you mean for food? I'm not terribly particular, so long as it's fresh."

"I'll see what we can do."

By the time Alex had navigated water, coffee and the locals gathered around an enormous stone hearth and its cheery fire, the harried-looking blonde behind the diner was yelling for her.

Thumping down the beverage tray, she returned almost immediately with three plates full of enormous burgers, sweet potato fries, a thick soup and something green swimming in something dairy that looked utterly unappealing. Alex tapped one burger and reached eagerly for the nasty bowl of swamp.

"Try that. Best thing Mom and Dad make."

Since Alex was going after the dish of green slop like a starving dog, Lena figured she was on her own with the mystery burger. She was hungry, even if the thing looked to be two days worth of calories…

After warily figuring out how to pick it up and randomly choosing an entry point, she took a bite… and turned into a shark. She was halfway through the thing before the feeding frenzy started to abate and Alex's little grin was knowing.

"Good huh? We're so isolated up here that fresh food is pretty much an impossibility a lot of the time. So Mom and Dad figured out years ago how to preserve as much flavor and nutritional value out of the fresh stuff we get in during summer. So there's tomato jam in there and leeks fresh frozen and tossed across the flat-top grill and cheese we stock up on, and there's a neighbor that does all the baking year round. And the meat is half beef and half turkey to cut down on the weight of it."

While Alex maundered on about the food, Lena listened quietly and just sort of soaked everything in. She had no idea that Alex was nervous, rambling on like her filter had fallen off in the snow. She was used to her notoriety, so Lena thought nothing of it, just finally allowed herself to enjoy the company of shockingly good food and this unusual stranger. 

"I--"

"Alex!"

A man had burst into the diner, swaddled up against the cold outside. He made a beeline for Alex, pulling off his warm hat to reveal a handsome black man with a bald head.

"James, where's the fire, man?"

"Alex! What are you doing here? They need Sweetie out at that tree! Forest Service is tied up at that rockslide down at National."

"What are you talking about? I got that tree hours ago."

"Huh? I was just there! That Douglas is massive! No one else is gonna get that brute moved."

"It was a cedar…" They were clearly both confused and abruptly Alex's expression went alarmed. "Wait! Is there another tree down on the road? But they didn't call!" 

"The phone lines are down."

"It's on the south end? Crap! How did it not take out the electricity?"

"No idea, now chop chop!"

"Gimme five to finish eating and I'll need fifteenish to refuel Sweetie. Want a taste of mountain life, Miss Luthor?"

The refusal was on the tip of her tongue. She wasn't going to get involved in whatever these admittedly attractive hicks were jabbering on about trees and phone lines… But Alex had a face for smiling, and the open one she wore was a little stunning. Almost against her will, Lena nodded and that smile actually grew even brighter. 

"Excellent! Chris! Could you get her set up for the weather? At least good boots. I could cover the rest."

Chris turned out to be a matronly woman with snowy-white hair trimmed in a brassy red-blonde and wearing an outrageous Christmas sweater under worn overalls. She swung into a heavy flannel coat with a hood that made her look like a lumberjill Mrs. Claus. Lena's sense of losing the thread of the tale around her deepened. 

"Come on then, honey," the woman coaxed gently at an owl-eyed Lena, the hint of a southern drawl wrapped around the words. "Lord knows that child doesn't like to wait once she's wound up."

The cold outside was another slap and Lena shivered and trotted after the spry Chris. Thankfully, they were only going next door, Chris unlocking the door and flicking light switches to reveal a space packed with gear mostly for work and sports, choked with a layer of Christmas cheer.

"Back here and we'll get you into some real boots."

With quick hands, Chris fit her to a strange pair of bulky boots that looked like a pair of stylish high-tops had a wild weekend with some work boots and this was their polar offspring. They even had fleece inserts that ran inches above the tall boots for warmth. They were sort of stylish in a way, but for the safety of the rugged soles, Lena would tolerate their faults. The sweat pants were not going to be enough warmth, and all that snowboarding gear was at least colorful.

Pulling out a very fancy platinum credit card, Lena handed it over. "Run that once the phone lines are up. It'll cover everything."

That seemed to be enough for Chris, who quickly had her kitted up in a colorful purple jacket that hung to just past her hipbones with a hot red liner that matched the jacket's trim. So Lena went with charcoal gray pants as much as she liked the turquoise and swapped out her sweats for silky long underwear and some very fancy long socks. With a thick fleecy headband tucked under her hat and some warm gloves, Lena felt better about braving the elements.

"There ya go. Now get moving and Alex will take good care of you."

Stepping into the cold was a far more pleasant experience in her new gear and Lena clomped her way back towards the huge building that housed the diner and shop, marveling at the falling snow. Sweetie roared from the shop, effortlessly shoving the drifts out of the way and Alex rolled down her window to call to her in a jovial voice. "Now you look like you'll survive our snowy little hamlet. Hop in the tank!"

"Easier said than done," Lena muttered to herself as she reached up to her eye level to yank the door handle. The brindle dog gave her an unimpressed look where she lay in the foot well, dressed in a puffy dog coat with a fleece neckwarmer pulled up over her ears.

"Ignore Sif, she's fine. Climb up and wedge your boots in with her."

"I feel like I should take a running start at this."

Alex laughed. Warmed by the good humor, Lena grabbed a conveniently provided handle and the inside edge of the door, hauling herself up the tall first step and half fell into the truck cab. The instant her ass was on the seat, Alex maneuvered clutch and gear shift and Sweetie roared eagerly to motion. 

"This is what you found me in."

"It is. Sorry if I gave you a bellyache. There was no other way to get you up here but over my shoulder."

Parts of her dream made more sense now that she was in the old truck amid the utilitarian dials and switches. Modern technology looked odd among the old steel, GPS and a joystick that Alex touched a couple of times as they got underway. Dusk was closing in, dimming the moving wall of snowflakes and the heavy shadows of trees as they rumbled past.

"Why Sweetie?"

A car accident, some snow and a pretty face and Lena had completely lost her head. The tabloids would have a field day with this. Despite having pinched herself, Lena still felt as though she was going to wake up any moment now, hungover in yet another hotel room. 

The mysterious Alex hummed noncommittally, clearly distracted. "Hmm? Yeah, the name. The military designation for this type of truck is M816. So, when I was little, the sixteen caught my eye, went to 'sweet sixteen' to Sweetie and Jon let it stick."

It was a cute little story and Lena was further charmed, despite herself. 

There was a small conflict on Alex's face, and sometimes it was easier to talk to a stranger. Plucking something off the dashboard to her left, she handed it over. In the dimming light, Lena could see her brown-eyed hero and a pretty blonde woman close in age to her hanging off the shoulders of a handsome black man a generation older.

"It would have been easier to retrieve you when Jon was here. Great man, like another father to me. Taught me more about who I've become than anyone else." Her smile was wistful. "Except for cooking. No one's been able to get that particular skill through my stubborn head."

By the twist of Alex's mouth, she wasn't completely pleased with having spoken so frankly. It was the first real sense of a bond between them, no matter how tentative. 

"I lost my father a long time ago. It never really gets any easier. Just gets… duller."

Despite Alex's eyes remaining on the road, Lena felt like the other woman was looking right at her scarred soul. She figured a little more conversation was safer.

"And the blonde?"

That brought on a happier smile. "My kid sister, Kara. She's in Seattle making a delivery and picking up a few last things before we're really locked down for winter. Just missed this storm, actually. It took us all by surprise, which is really unusual. Once the storm blows over, she'll get home. We're used to it."

"I've always wanted a sister. Though I do have an older brother who's pretty great when he's not being stupid."

Alex's chuckle was warm.

"Her origin story in this town is crazier than yours, actually. Trees are a theme-- oops, that story will have to wait, here we are."

In short order, bright lights gleamed in the falling snow and Sweetie began to slow from her already slow pace.

"Oh, this is an inconvenient spot," Alex mused as they nosed around a sharp bend to almost tap the huge tree across the road. It lay at almost a forty-five degree angle down the mountainside, as thick as several people in a group hug. "Sif, guard."

In a blast of cold and snowflakes, Alex was gone, leaving Lena alone with her thoughts.

Faint noises and movement carried through the muffling snow, floodlights flickering as people moved back and forth in front of them. It was as surreal as the rest of her strange day and Lena found herself half dozing off before the driver's door was yanked open.

"Okay, we have a plan," Alex enthused as she began flipping switches and the GPS screen took on an alternate role as a backup camera. The behemoth truck growled and heaved herself back the way she'd come, twisting into a surprisingly dexterous three-point turn Lena was really glad she couldn't see clearly in the dimness. Then they backed down to where they had been. "You're welcome to watch, just stay forward of the flatbed part of the truck for your safety, okay?"

"Okay."

What else could she say? It wasn't like Lena had a clue what was going on or had any curiosity about any of it… Or was climbing carefully out of the truck into the cold, quiet blizzard. Voices and the buzz of chainsaws broke up the quiet, Sweetie groaning and hissing as the crane on her back rose to life like a great dinosaur neck.

What she could see of the proceedings was fascinating in a barely comprehensible way. And little of the shouts that carried to her helped in any way.

"Lines are down! Gimme ten to wind 'em!"

"Rig that for asymmetry! It's gonna want to slide the instant its free."

"What is it, bring the wife to work day?"

Attracted to the small familiarity of Alex's voice in the strange circumstances, Lena had crept down to the end of the truck where a small knot of people had gathered. And they had all looked over at her, obvious in her bright snowboarder coat. Alex scrawled on a clipboard and slapped it hard into the chest of one of the guys standing around her.

"Do you want to move the damn tree yourself?" she asked with acidic sweetness and the others chuckled. As they all moved to tasks, Alex came to Lena, her expression lit crazily by the scattered floodlights and the falling snow, but her concern clear. "Are you okay?"

Being within a few feet of the tree made Lena realize that she really was in a potentially dangerous situation. "I'm… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get to close."

"Well, no harm done. I just want you safe."

Such a nice, normal concern shouldn't have choked Lena up the way it did, but there was no denying the hard rush of emotion that rushed through her.

"Can I help?"

It was a shock to Lena to hear her own voice say that. There was a tree the size of a submarine, deep snow on a steep surface at her shoulder, a tank masquerading as a truck and chainsaws roaring away. She should be at a lodge right now, sipping fine bourbon, her socked toes propped up in front of a warm fire. Not helping out lumberjill in snowy visibility not much better than ten feet!

"Okay, you can spot Davis, but stay clear of the rigging. Davis! You ready?"

A vaguely masculine-shaped figure in the driving snow flashed a thumbs up and Alex gave Lena's arm a squeeze before she trotted away. There was some clunking and Sweetie's superstructure whined to life over the constant rumble of her engine. 

"I'm braced! Go!" Alex yelled into the peculiar muffling effect of snow and chainsaws wailed once more to life.

When it happened, it happened fast. Terrifyingly fast. There was a crackle and the sound of shattering wood, the enormous trunk just at the edge of her sight lurching violently with a thud that shook the ground. Men's voices were screaming and yelling as a 'whirr' and a 'snap' shuddered thought Sweetie's seemingly immovable bulk and she was yanked sideways as though some twenty tons of steel were a child's toy.

One scream was too close, the man Alex had called Davis going down as the edge of the truck hammered him. There was no time to think, Lena just lunged to help him, Alex bellowing for him to hit the safety pin. 

"Hammer," Davis said woozily and Lena noticed there was a small sledgehammer in his hand, now lying forlornly on the snowy pavement as Sweetie lurched again like a fisherman with something too big on the line to control. 

Line.

Grabbing the hammer, Lena looked wildly at the series of cables that led from Sweetie to the tree… that was slowly dragging the truck towards the same cliff edge that had already almost claimed her life. Everything connected at a central blocking, and as sure as death and taxes, there was a big steel pin in the center.

Without a second thought, she smacked it as hard as she could with the five pound sledge and the tree whipped free, whistling away into the cloak of falling snow with frightening speed. Something heavy cracked Lena in the back even as she was dropping, and the tree crashed away with a deafening racket.

Someone was calling her name and gentle hands touched her carefully. With a groan, Lena rolled onto her back and blinked up into Alex's terrified face. "Saved you back."

For a moment, Alex only stared before she burst into relieved laughter. "Well damn, city mouse, I didn't think you had it in you."

"I hope that was the right pin."

"Yes, yes you did great. That damn tree wasn't braced as nearly as well as the crews thought and I'll be having words with them as soon as I know you're okay. Are you okay?"

"I think the blocking hit me in the back, but no pins and needles or anything. Is Davis okay?"

"The state guys are collecting him. Hey, what are you doing?"

Sitting up, Lena twisted a bit, finding the sore spot on her back was just one more mild thing to add to an already impossibly weird day. "I'm good. I'll go lay down in the truck."

"But…"

Later it would amuse Lena that Sif took one look at her and immediately jumped down to the floor of the cab.

Her mind was awhirl with the day, of the scares and shocks and mysteries. Writing about grand adventures was easier than living them to be sure. 

After lying out across the bench seat for a few minutes, Lena heard Sif shift about and was startled into raising her head when a warm weight came to rest on her lower belly. The brindle dog was studiously not looking at her, but had indeed laid that heavy head on her.

"Thanks," Lena whispered and gingerly reached down to rest her hand behind Sif's ears.

Around them Sweetie clunked and vibrated until Sif alerted a sleepy Lena to not jump as the driver's door was yanked open.

"Hey gals," Alex said quietly. "Think you could make some space for one more?"

Reluctantly, Lena sat up and tried to coordinate all her limbs and not stomp on Sif with her clunky boots. Even as she wearily clicked her seatbelt into place, the big pit snuggled up between her knees, laying her head on Lena's thigh where she could watch her human drive.

"She likes you. That's quite a compliment."

"I think she more feels sorry for me, but I'll take what I can get."

She studiously avoided Alex's gaze, concentrating on learning to pet Sif's head and ears just right so that the dog squirmed closer.

"So this might be a bit of a rough ride with the low speed and the amount of snow that has come down. You're getting quite the adventure, Miss Luthor."

With a somewhat seasick-inducing series of shoves, the huge ex-military truck began working her way back up the narrow mountain valley.

"So, I wanted to thank you."

Lost in her own thoughts, Lena was taken aback by the quiet words. "Thank me? For what?"

"You most likely saved Davis' life, possibly mine, definitely Sif's. And if any of those cables had snapped, even more people would have been hurt. And while Sweetie here is no beauty, she's a legacy and part of my livelihood. So, thank you."

Lena honestly had no idea what to say.

"You wear a lot of hats. EMT, mechanic, tow truck driver."

It hardly seemed the right thing to say, but it was out there now and all Lena could do was wince over it. Alex flashed her an odd look from the corner of her eye, but took it in stride.

"Forester, handywoman, certified electrician, delivery monkey, scientific consultant, woodworker, mover of snow, and tormenter of little sisters."

"Forester like the car?"

She was still absorbing everything revealed about this intriguing stranger and that was all her brain could regurgitate. It made Alex laugh warmly, the sound a little curl of pleasure in Lena's rattled brain.

"No, but this state must own about half of the Subarus made in the USA, I swear. I cull trees and clean up damage and trim branches for safety. I am one of only two civic employees of Midvale. The mayor, who's also trapped down-mountain right now, struck a deal with the state to get me most of the Forestry Service benefits without their having enough control over me to override my obligations to my town."

"Handy."

By the time electric light led them back to town, it was full dark, the snow a bewildering wall of movement in the truck's lamps. Past the tiny cluster of buildings that now glowed cheerfully with Christmas lights, Sweetie veered right and into a big, slow loop towards the back of the largest building. At the last moment, Alex tapped the joystick hard to skew the plow off to one side and deposit the bulk of the accumulated load, swinging the curved blade straight once more, nearly touching the great metal door.

In a flash, she was out and slipping into the building, the door slowly yawing open before she retook her seat. Even the controlled chaos of the mechanic shop with just a few lights on looked like civilized paradise to Lena.

"You looked wiped out."

The gentle query wanted to irritate Lena, but she couldn't drum up the energy. "Yes, well this is certainly more of an adrenaline lifestyle than I'm used to."

Ignoring the cranky censure in Lena's tone, Alex nodded and hopped down from Sweetie's ridiculous height once more. Trotting over to the passenger side, she yanked open the door and smiled thinly. "Down Sif. Come on, Miss Luthor. You look like you need a warm shower and an early night."

"I'm fine," she groused, but slithered down the side of the truck and probably would have fallen on her face had Alex not caught her. She was not going to admit that the grip around her felt good, no matter the utilitarian nature of it. Yes, she was used to being managed and herded and schlepped about, but this felt different. "Fine. An early night it is, but I can't put you out for the night."

"You could Airbnb one of the snowbird cabins around here, but you'll be alone. Or you could stay. My couch is fine. For me, not you. Besides, I want to keep an eye out on you."

Grumbling seemed counterproductive, so Lena allowed herself to be prodded back to the crowded living space. In a flurry of activity, she was given an armload of clean clothes and shooed off to the narrow bathroom to clean up. It turned out there was a rock wall at the back of the shower Lena was fairly certain was the huge hearth in the diner. When she tentatively touched it, the lack of icy cold to the mortared stone seemed to confirm that.

Lena had experienced a minimum of physical hardship in her pampered life. Today had been hard on her, a car accident, the damp cold sunk into her bones, her familiar things ripped from her. The heat of the water on her skin was a simple pleasure that began settling the ragged edges.

Some of her aplomb was shaken at the pile of borrowed clothes. Still, climbing into the silky-soft boxer shorts or even bare-assed in more sweatpants were preferable to her own dirty underwear.

She barely recognized the stranger in the mirror, wet hair gone black straggling over the heather gray sweatshirt, her pale eyes large and dramatic in her bare face. Somehow she was reminded of her uncomfortable teenage self, filling out into a shape that seemed so unsuited to her. Then again, does anyone ever really outgrow that?

Shaking off the unsettling feelings as best she could, Lena drew her mental armor around her as best she could.

"Hungry?" Alex's voice greeted her quietly from the hidden couch. "I have a light dinner."

Following the flicker of a television against heavy drapes over the large window, Lena found her host sprawled out on the far end of the couch. Clad in a riot of mismatched flannel in the spotlight of a reading lamp, slippered feet propped up on the bookshelf and half buried in a blizzard of papers and a brick of a laptop held together with duct tape and wishful thinking, Alex looked like a weird bookish hybrid of a pixie-ish lumberjack and someone who had escaped from Harry Potter's world. A pair of fashionable-twenty-years-ago glasses clinging to the tip of cute nose only added to the image.

"Sandwich?" Alex offered, unknowing or uncaring for her outlandish appearance and waved a page at a plate resting on a large book in the center of the couch. "We can put in a different movie, but this just started. The information lines are still down, but I have plenty of DVDs."

Having no idea what the movie even was, Lena shrugged and curled up on the end of the couch closest to the door. "No dogs?"

Alex smirked without looking up from her paper chaos. "Sif would have probably behaved herself, but Pepper is too young to have any self-control around food. We're working on that."

Baffled at how she had any appetite after that monster of a burger she had inhaled for lunch, nonetheless Lena found herself with little but crumbs left of the thick turkey and slaw sandwich and eyeing the second one lying there all alone. 

"Cold chews calories up," Alex mused, again not looking up from the work she was mumbling over. "If you're torn, I'll split it with you. Eat what you want to eat, I have to finish this up and I'll get what's left."

While Lena was still off-kilter about this whole maddening situation she was trapped in, she wasn't going to deliberately be a jerk to her rough-edged rescuer.

Still, the quiet got to her after awhile.

Alex mumbled to herself over her work. Not really words, but half-coherent sub-vocalizations like a cat growling in its sleep. The pages she shuffled through were full of small-print paragraphs and complicated drawings of graphs and calculations and… fish. 

Even as Lena was ready to give into her curiosity, Alex froze and made a last, rushed scrabble through her papers, squinting at two of them side by side. There was no mistaking the noise of triumph and she scribbled furiously at them for long moments, grumbling to herself. 

"Ha!" she finally crowed triumphantly and tossed her pencil onto the bookshelf to carefully arrange the papers and tap them into order. "Suck that, Max, you disbeliever. This calls for a drink!"

With papers and books stashed on the bookshelf above easy dog level, Alex pulled out a rack of DVDs near the floor to reveal a hidden compartment crowded with a few glass bottles and several tumblers.

"You a scotch drinker, Miss Luthor?"

"As I had been headed to Paradise Lodge for a few days of skiing and drinking, yes please."

Sequestered away from the warmth of the room, the scotch was cool and had a warm, welcome creaminess against Lena's palate. "Lovely."

Alex smirked and tossed back a couple fingers of the stuff with practiced ease before pouring more and resting back against the couch to relax.

"You never finished telling me about your sister," Lena found herself saying to fill the quiet between them. The sweet smile she invoked made Lena's heart twinge oddly.

"It's a shame Kara's not here, you'd like her. Everyone likes her." There was something to the statement that Lena could almost grasp, some subtle melancholy that deepened into a mourning she knew all too well. "Never know when you're going to be separated here." 

In that moment, Lena knew she wasn't thinking of the sister just a couple hundred miles away, but the father figure clearly recently lost to her. Lena remembered the pain all too well and willingly ignored the break in Alex's voice and the way she roughly scrubbed a fist across her eyes before reaching for the bottle again.

"You want another hit? Just a little one, to hopefully sweeten the dreams a bit."

"Please."

Alcohol couldn't solve the loss, but sometimes numbing the bleeding edge could get a soul thorough to another day. When Alex did speak again, her voice was more cheerful.

"Kara and me, we always do something early for the holidays on Yule. Our favorite is the clear nights when we can go up on the roof and look at the stars."

"Yule?"

"Couple of nights ago was Winter Solstice, also called Yule in the days of yore, and is the longest night of the year. So we're now in the new year as the earth starts to tilt us back towards the sun and the days slowly get longer and longer."

"Ah, how romantic."

Despite meaning the comment to come out sarcastic, Lena was annoyed that she sounded a little heartfelt. Not to mention the speculative look her keeper flashed over those ridiculous spectacles. No, it was well past time to be done with the day's insanity and tomorrow she would knuckle down in getting back to her life.

Slugging back the last of the scotch, Lena flashed a tight smile as she hopped up. "Thanks for the drink, oh, and the sandwich. Good night."

Cleary a bit bemused by the abrupt shift in mood, Alex's voice trailed after her hasty retreat.

"Sweet dreams."


	2. 12/23/17  Feel Like Home

The second time waking up in Alex's bed was as strange as the first one. Though Lena had no complaints about the lack of shock value at least.

Drowsy and pleasantly warm, she stirred and was rewarded with a soft whine that dredged up a little grin. Peeling open one eye she was greeted by the sweet sight of Pepper with as much of herself on the bed as possible without putting actual paws up. She wiggled and whined happily at Lena reaching out to rub over her long face with notably more enthusiasm than the day before. Sighing in exasperation at her younger packmate, Sif stood from where she'd been laying by the woodstove and stepped over to check on her charges.

That led Lena's eye to the little table beside the bed where a battered green thermos sat with a card on it. A folded card with a terrible drawing of a Christmas tree and a pair of dogs romping.

She was not going to admit that it was cute… and possibly a little charming.

The handwriting inside was open and expressive and painstakingly neat. 'Head next door when you need to refuel. I'm clearing more trees and will help get the phone lines up if they'll let me. Jurisdiction issues. -A'

Despite the quality of the food on offer so far, Lena was still half expecting coffee brewed from a can and was pleasantly surprised. Well, she supposed if there was a place in the US of A that knew their coffee, it would be the birthplace of Starbucks.

Sitting up against Alex's headboard with the bedding still tucked around her warmly and sipping good, hot coffee, Lena felt like maybe she was finally settling into her strange experience. She'd plowed into a fallen tree and her rental car was pretty mangled, though better it than her. Significant damage had been dealt to the sturdy SUV and she'd been at least partially pushed off the road, and while she might be a California girl, she wouldn't have been whipping through snowy mountains at some outrageous speed. She wasn't suicidal. So, she had to wonder if the tree was still in motion somehow.

The thought brought an unpleasant twist to her belly. A tree in motion meant it had been falling, or rolling or something equally destructive. And had it even been half the size of the behemoth she'd help deal with yesterday…

Suddenly being trapped in Small Town, USA didn't seem like such a hardship after all.

Still, she was feeling at a loss of what to do with herself. Without her phone or laptop or notes-- she tried not to dwell on all her myriad notes on fragile paper, lost to the elements- now what? 

There was no real answer.

Eventually Lena's stomach drove her from the warm room and into her new/borrowed clothes. It was mostly quiet next door, with new faces behind the counter and in the kitchen. Taking a chance, Lena ordered a fancy bowl of oatmeal and was not disappointed at the texture of the grains. Chewing away happily at the chunks of dried fruit and crunchy almonds, she decided to curl up on one of the squishy chairs by the enormous hearth with its warm fire.

Little did she know that her location was an open invitation to be accosted by the locals. At first, Lena was baffled by the attention of a steady procession of friendly folk happy for a new ear. None of them required much interaction from her, just a quiet ear, and despite herself, Lena was oddly fascinated. 

The recently awakened storyteller part of her brain soaked up the stories, tales of family and place and weird circumstance, even as her bratty city girl was mostly horrified at the whole thing.

Eventually though, she was getting worn out by the attention, feeling as though, if she heard one more local-yokel story, she was going to scream. Right on cue, the serious-faced blonde from the day before reappeared behind the counter and Lena used that as an excuse to escape from the rotating crowd at the hearth. She certainly didn't look like Alex's mother, any resemblance superficial.

With a bowl of baked potato soup to warm her belly, Lena finally asked the question that had been bugging her all morning.

"I don't suppose there's any getting out of here?"

There was something curious but also challenging in the blue eyes. Still, she answered readily enough. 

"From the bits and pieces we've been getting over the radios, the road is closed to all but emergency traffic, Packwood is as socked in as we are, both highways are blocked and Mrs. Sanchez is pretty sure that the short transmission she got from Longview said both bridges were hit by falls. Give us a day or two and we can probably get you down to White Pass to get back to your skiing. Paradise is probably out though."

The faint distaste was something Lena couldn't quite suss out. Was it her? Or the other ski area? Or even skiing itself? Regardless, she was well and truly trapped. Nodding morosely, Lena listlessly ate her soup and let her mind wander.

What the hell was she going to do with herself for the next day or two?

As though conjured up by Lena's thoughts, Alex stepped in, slapping snow off of herself and expertly shucking her outer layers. 

"There's my charge! How are you feeling?"

Expecting the attention, Lena twisted around on her stool at the long counter and sure enough, Alex once more cradled her face in cool hands, brushing thumbs over the bruise on her forehead.

"Good. I think I've met most of your little town this morning."

The comment sounded more teasing than grumpy and Alex chuckled. "You sat by the fire, didn't you? It's an unspoken rule here. If you want company, you hang out at the Danvers'. And the closer to the fire, the more attention you'll get. If you want some solitude or just quieter company, you head for home or your shop."

"Humph. You could have warned me."

"And ruin your small town experience? Never." Leaving off caressing Lena's silky skin, Alex flashed a tight grin. "Hey Mom. Could I get a quick meatloaf sandwich? I'm nowhere near done, but more than just Sweetie needs fuel."

With a brusque nod, the older woman made eye contact with Jeremiah in the kitchen and he nodded confirmation. 

"I'll need your help to get some Christmas decorations up. It's been put off too long."

Maybe it was the way Alex flinched, or the growing look of impatience and disapproval in Eliza's expression, but Lena found herself chiming up. 

"I'll help."

Honestly, she'd been around this little Christmas town too much already. Still, she couldn't take her offer back, that would be rude. Both Danvers woman were clearly nonplussed and Lena couldn't completely stop her defensive reaction.

"What? I'm not a completely useless city girl."

After a moment's hesitation, Eliza seemed willing enough to take advantage of a pair of helping hands, leading Lena past the galley and into a quiet, cluttered storage room. Grabbing a short ladder, Eliza dragged it over to a plywood cabinet, scarred with age, and climbed up to start pulling out cardboard boxes and plastic totes marked 'Christmas'.

"We've been a bit behind this year," she explained. "It just gets harder, the older you get."

It was quite a couple of stacks, some of the boxes yellowed and battered with age.

"And what with sorting through Jon's things…"

Lena didn't know what to say. These people were strangers to her, each with their own dramas and pains. Could she even be a good listener? Lena herself wasn't sure as she had never slowed down enough to really find out.

"Alex spoke briefly about missing him."

It was a tentative offer, but something in the tense line of Eliza's shoulders eased. Shuffling aside a couple of boxes, she reached into a third, quickly pulling out a couple of picture frames.

"Jeremiah and Jon have been the best of friend since they were tiny boys right here in this town."

The picture was yellowed with age of two small boys with the arms wrapped around the other's waist and grinning fit to burst, several teeth missing on each. They were alike and opposite, dark and pale, both of them filthy and fit and clearly so, so happy. The other photo was them as handsome young men in jeans and flannels, Jeremiah holding a pale newborn with a shock of brassy auburn hair, Jon tickling her belly. They were both clearly smitten.

"He was family in all the ways that counted. A best friend to both of us, another father to the girls, the best partner anyone could ever want. It hasn't been the same without him."

Lena would never know what prompted her to step closer, so that she could glance down in the open box where more pictures lay. With hesitant but greedy hands, she reached in to grab as many of them as would fit in her empty hands. Jon and Jeremiah and Eliza and Kara and her brown-eyed hero at a variety of ages. Other people drifted through the photos here and there, but the five were the core. 

It made Lena's chest ache.

"Imagine the riches of three parents," she whispered, not even realizing she had spoken out loud, but Eliza heard it, startled at the pain and wistfulness. Abruptly, Lena shook it off and set the pictures down, grabbing the box. "I guess maybe this is why she liked me being in the truck. A stranger, even a quiet one, is better than the silence of being alone."

Doing her best to ignore the ache in her chest, Lena strode back to the dining room, unaware of the speculative sympathy left in her wake. 

Though it quickly became clear that Lena was indeed a completely useless city girl. Between the enormous spider that made her scream like a banshee and the simply awful sensation of the fake garland rough against her skin, she was ready to take her chances with the storm outside. Thankfully, the locals rallied to help Eliza and Lena was able to slip away.

The slap of icy air nearly pulled the air out of her lungs and made her grateful again for the proper winter gear. Which reminded her…

Crunching across the scattered snow frozen to the gravel walkway in front of the shop and diner, Lena stepped out from under the enormous overhanging roof and paused to listen to the soft shush of snowflakes against the fancy shell of her coat and hood. They slipped over the material, gathered on her shoulders and hands when she raised them to watch the frozen puffs melt against her skin. A gust of wind ruined the magic and got her moving again. 

It seemed like every car in town had a plow strapped to its nose, but drifts still tugged at her feet as she walked to the grey hulk of the building next door. Thankfully there were lights on behind the windows, the little sign flipped to 'open'. 

Chris herself looked like a Christmas decoration where she sat in a great red velvet armchair at the largest window, reading and sipping at a delicate teacup. The flicker of movement had her looking up and smiling even as Lena pulled open the heavy door and stepped inside. 

"Well, hey there, kiddo, good to see you again. Would you like a cup of cocoa?"

For a moment, Lena could only pause and stare at Chris, wondering if she were serious. Could there be a bigger cliché than cocoa with one of the Clauses? Though, it did smell good…

"Yes please, that sounds nice."

Idly looking around, Lena soaked up the quiet in contrast to the babble of the diner. What was happening to her? Was there something in the air wearing her down? Then again, she'd found an appreciation for quiet while turning her childhood stories with Lex into something others would read…

"Here ya go. Always make a bit extra for guests."

With a heaving sigh, Chris retook her big chair, leaving Lena to curl up in a smaller one opposite. Some time passed in an easy quiet, Lena staring out the window, hypnotized by the whirls of snow turning the landscape beyond into murky shapes. Somehow, Chris knew exactly how long to wait before she spoke up again.

"You seem like you're settling in all right."

Lena felt herself make a weird face, nose and mouth scrunched, brows drawing in, before she forcibly smoothed out her expression. Plenty of practice there.

"Umm. Everyone has been very kind."

She didn't quite know what to make of the smirk that danced over Chris' face. "Especially the Danvers?"

Now, Lena had certainly noted that Alex Danvers was an attractive woman, despite the flannel and Carhartt's canvas. But that didn't mean anything. She was around attractive people all the time!

"Yes, the Danvers in particular seem very nice. Very helpful."

"Well sure, kiddo, that why you ended up with Alex's instead of anywhere else. Alex is the best equipped in town to help you in every way."

In all the chattering and stories she'd been subjected to that morning, Lena had certainly heard her hero's name pop up. Frequently, in fact. Clearly the whole town was crazy about her, even if her mother was a little prickly. 

"She does seem very… versatile."

Lena wasn't completely certain what to make of Chris' low chuckle.

"Our mayor calls her our 'Do Everything Officer' if you ever notice the pink patches all over her gear. Those two are a riot when they get worked up. Just don't ask Alex to cook or touch anything that has to do with plumbing."

"I'll keep that in mind," Lena said for lack of a better response to the strange conversation. "You have a mayor?"

"Sure thing. Midvale became an official town more than a hundred years ago, when news broke of the government making the mountain and a whole lotta land around it a national park. Figured if they were a proper town, no one could make them leave, and it worked! Oh, we have a lot of rules to follow about how we use the land, but it's manageable."

Chris was more than happy to talk about the town and whatever else fell between them. Thankfully, she was just as content with the moments of quiet, but eventually Lena decided that she should tend to the actual reason she had come to the shop in the first place.

"I don't know that I could ever get used to the pace of life here."

"Oh, I dunno, you've done okay so far."

"What do you mean?"

"You just spent the last hour chatting with me about things both important and inconsequential. That's a valuable skill here."

"Has it been an hour? Wow. So, I came over here to see if there were some sundries I could add to my tab. With my luggage lost to the snow somewhere, I could really use some underthings."

Chris' chuckle was kind and she gestured to the back of the store. "Oh, sure thing. Let me see what I have that might suit you for a few days, just in case."

They did find something workable that unfortunately turned out to be a four-pack of men's Y-front cotton briefs. Part of her was horrified, but at least they were clean and new in the package. And somehow, she'd been talked into helping out Chris with some other incomprehensible small town task.

She blamed being distracted by Sweetie roaring by with a plume of snow spraying away from the big plow on her nose.

Chris herded her into her warm clothes and out into the cold day, cheerful but implacable. "We're going to give Mrs. Sanchez a hand with her Christmas lights. I know the weather is shit, but we can manage. And who knows how long this storm will last? Maybe until Christmas itself!"

In a beat up old Jeep with, yes, a plow on its nose-- did every vehicle in town have one?-- Lena huddled against the cold and wondered miserably when she had lost control of her life. 

It didn't get better as they drove to a sleepy little house lit cheerfully from within. Quickly, Lena was flummoxed at how she'd come to be halfway up a ladder in three foot deep snow with handfuls of Christmas lights being fed up to her by a man as old as the Mayflower to hang on fiddly little hooks with fingers half-numb from the mountain cold. Really, what had her life come down to?

Still, there was something weirdly… cheerful in the cold-stiff green wires and the colorful little LED bulbs that blazed to life when she connected the strings to the line. 

"Hey, you make a pretty cute Santa's helper," Alex's voice said from behind her.

The ladder suddenly shuddered mysteriously, Lena yelping in panic and grabbing the damn thing. In an instant, another body crowded up against her legs and rear, the additional weight anchoring the ladder.

"Thank you. This has been a bit of a project. I could have used Sweetie's crane."

"You look like you're doing great."

Glancing down at the smiling face at her elbow, Lena was struck again by the attractiveness of this stranger. "I guess I'm not a hapless city mouse at everything after all."

Alex huffed out a small note of warm amusement. "I see that."

There was some sort of… anticipation in her voice, the brown eyes warm above her smile.

The moment was broken up by Chris and Mrs. Sanchez stepping out onto the porch to break into a surprisingly pleasant rendition of 'We Wish You A Merry Christmas'. Alex scoffed a soft laugh and, to Lena's delight, joined in.

Stepping down, Alex bowed and offered a hand that Lena took, but only after giving her a wry look. To her amusement, the taller woman swept her into a dance hold, still singing, and whirled her about in the falling snow.

The simple enjoyment of the moment felt so strange, a magical flash in time carried by this sweetly enigmatic stranger and her welcome attentions. Lena barely recognized her own giggle bubbling up, shyly joining in when the group moved on to 'Jingle Bells'.

She barely noticed when they wound down, Alex's arms around her waist, Lena toying with the bulk of scarf around her neck.

"Thanks for steadying me," Lena murmured and helplessly returned Alex's widening smile

"Thank you for letting yourself get roped into helping decorate."

"That's okay, it was a new experience."

Clearly startled, Alex's head tilted off like one of her dogs. "Wait, you've never done Christmas decorations before?"

"No. That's what professionals are for. Mother has been preening ever since she got on the books of the same team that does the White House."

Before Alex could get her head around that, Chris was calling for them. "You girls come in and have a warm cup of something."

"Thanks Chris, but I think this storm is letting up and I want to get in a good last plow and building check before it gets dark."

"Alexandra Danvers, you get your ass in this house and defrost your bones for five damn minutes!"

It was hard to take the threat seriously as the older adults laughed, and Alex's expression was wry. "Oh dear, the whole name has come out. I'm doomed."

"When you can feel your face again, you can go."

Stifling down a laugh that might be an entirely unwanted giggle, Lena turned Alex away from their loose embrace and shoved her at the house.

Five minutes, of course, became twenty, and finally Alex had to make a break for it, laughing at Chris' mock haranguing. Having a distinct feeling she was about to become the focus of all that energy, Lena bolted too, though she could only get so far. At least up a ladder they were less likely to distract her.

The weather had let up just as Alex had said it would, the fall of snow reduced to a lazy trickle and visibility much better. Lena could see other houses in the cleared part of the valley that seemed to be the bulk of the town, and possibly the shapes of others tucked into the trees. 

And, oh the trees. The dramatic terrain was choked with the pillars of evergreens, drooping branches heavy with snow. The sheer scale and quantity of them was awe-inspiring. In the dramatic quiet of the fading storm, the hiss and splat of falling snowpack could be heard as its own weight pulled it from the fir needles. A passing truck-- sure enough with a plow on its nose-- was shockingly loud. It couldn't help but catch her attention, and when she turned back to the ladder, she startled at movement coming from the nearby treeline.

For a moment, Lena felt a blast of fear, for wandering from the trees was what she thought, for just a moment, was a bear. But no, it was a large dog, moving slowly with his head down as though he'd walked a thousand miles in the deep snow.

Hesitating for a moment, Lena climbed down and knelt, coaxing in her gentlest voice. "Come here, boy."

Only when he got closer, did Lena realize why she had been confused. He was wearing a goofy-looking tube of knit yarn with bear ears that so closely matched his reddish-brown coat as to be indistinguishable. Soaking wet and shaking, the dog, who had yet to even raise his weary head, huddled against her.

"Oh, you poor thing."

Around his heavy neck was nothing but the collar of a green and black flannel shirt with a few tatters of the rest of the garment that had been torn away. He was a hound of some sort, marked like a Doberman, but heavier, more barrel-chested and thick-legged. Yet, he wasn't a Rottweiler either. The brown and tan coat was barely fuzz on him, no protection at all against the winter chill, and there was snow caked into his big paws.

"Chris!"

While Mrs. Sanchez wasn't terribly happy about a large, strange dog in her mudroom, she would no more turn away a stranger than anyone else in town. 

The dog stuck to Lena like a burr, reluctant to let Chris tend to him, but not at all hostile.

"You got an admirer, honey."

Pulling off the bear hat revealed perfectly normal floppy dog ears, one of the few relatively warm and dry parts of him. Lena rubbed down her pal while he shivered and shook, stub of a tail wagging frantically, and he continued pressing into her every chance he got. 

Chris and Mrs. Sanchez boiled up a handful of ground beef into water and added a bit of cool water to it. The strange dog gratefully lapped it up.

"Where do you think he came from?" Lena wondered as she remained next to her new pal, an arm keeping the warm quilt on his shaking frame. Concern had wiped away the gross out factor of his sloppy eating and the stink of wet dog.

"He's not a local, that's for sure," Chris answered thoughtfully. "Big animal like this, we'd all know him. If he came from Packwood or Longmire, that'd been some sort of miracle to be sure."

"But I thought it was only a couple of miles?"

"Sure it is. As the crow flies. But we're talking about brutal terrain in a pounding snowstorm late in December with temps well below freezing. Short-coated dog like that shouldn't have lasted more than a few hours if he was damn lucky."

"That's okay, boy," Lena fussed over the strange dog, who raised his head up finally and really looked her in the face. "You can be my lucky Christmas bear."

Even the slobbery lick couldn't dilute Lena's delight.

With icy snow still not quite melted between his toes, the dog was understandably reluctant to walk back out into the cold. The older women were convinced Lena was insane to manhandle the big animal, but he placidly allowed her to wrap his huge paws in kitchen towels held in place by rubberbands.

"His feet are definitely bothering him," Lena worried as they padded through the dusky snowfall to Chris' truck.

"Hopefully just those ice balls, hon. Alex will know what to do. I'll get you settled in with your lucky Bear here and go track her down for you."

"Thank you so much, Chris."

Smiling, the older woman drove the short distance down the valley to the big Danvers building.

"Come on, lucky bear, we're almost there."

Drawn along by Lena's voice, the dog followed the women past the diner and through the shop door Chris unlocked from an impressive ring of keys.

"I hear you, Pepper!" she called into the space, the spotted spaniel sending up racket from somewhere in the dimness. "Look, I'll take the girl back to my place to hang out so you don't have to deal with any canine shenanigans. Grab that blanket he's wrapped in, just in case."

But not only did the newcomer not react to Pepper's being released from behind a door, but Pepper herself was far more interested in Chris' attention.

"You'll do fine, Lena!"

Behind the door that had contained the energetic spaniel was a smallish room clearly dedicated to the dogs and laundry. There were comfy beds on the floor and bowls of water and toys scattered about. In one corner was a small rank of cabinets and counters and, bizarrely, a bathtub set at waist level. With steps leading up to its edge.

"How does a warm bath sound, handsome?"

Astonishingly, he climbed the steps and stepped gingerly into the tub, not even reacting the rush of water into the tub to warm.

"Let me get your feet…" Lena's voice trailed off as she noticed small spots of blood on two of the towels. "Oh, you poor thing. No wonder you were limping."

Like everything else that had happened since he walked out of the trees, the dog barely reacted to the spray of nice, warm water. He didn't even move when Lena stepped away to look in the cabinets. Somehow she wasn't surprised that Alex was organized about her dog things, finding pet shampoo and neat stacks of mismatched towels within easy reach. So she rubbed a bit of shampoo into the short, spiky coat and continued to talk at her new friend. It was sweet how clingy he was, pressing close and putting his head on her shoulder. Even all the wet couldn't put Lena off, and wasn't that something else!

Toweling them both off, Lena found some washcloths to rewrap his feet and a clean blanket in the dog's things. Then she threw everything into the washing machine and led her bear to Alex's apartment. Hoping her host wouldn't get mad, she coaxed the big dog into the bed and flopped down beside him, snuggling them both beneath the warm covers.

"I'm going to call you Bear," She murmured, baffled but enjoying the growing attachment to the strange animal. His little stub tail battered at her knees, earning a giggle.

She was so happy that he had stopped shaking, heavy body deadweight with exhaustion, their combined body heat lulling both to sleep.

It could have been minutes, or hours, or days later when a rattle of noise had Bear's head shooting up, Lena awake a moment later.

"Hey, just me," Alex said quietly, and bizarrely, Bear relaxed, head flopping back to the pillow. It made Lena chuckle and pet him. "I hear we have a new guest. How are you both doing?"

"Sorry to take over your bed even more."

"No problem. I wouldn't turn your pal there away any more than I would have turned you away. Wow, he's a big boy isn't he?"

Again, Bear raised his head, tail beginning its drumming again, but Lena guessed that was as much the scent of delicious food as anything. Her stomach was certainly growling!

With more energy than he'd displayed yet, Bear was wriggling against the grip of the bedding, Lena laughing and flicking the bulk away with Alex's help. Astonishingly, he obeyed Alex's raised hand and sat calmly to regard this new person. When Alex offered that same hand, he sniffed and then leaned into her touch over his head and ears.

"Friendly and obedient, I like him. Okay, hop down, boy, and let's get you fed."

"Careful," Lena called out, hesitating as he seemed to be moving easily. "His feet. They were bleeding a bit earlier."

"Oh. Okay. When he's done eating, I'll look at his pads. Here."

While Bear chowed through the bowl set on the floor, the women ate more sandwiches and relaxed and traded bits about their day.

"We'll take him down to Packwood tomorrow for Joan the vet to take a look at him. He clearly belongs to someone."

Having eaten, had his paws looked at and used the indoor dog potty facilities Alex had built, Bear was once more sprawled out in the bed, his head on Lena's belly.

"Yes, I suppose you're right. A shame though, I've never had a dog before. Too messy and loud and destructive. My father would sometimes talk about dogs he had as a boy." 

Wracked with the memories, she swallowed hard and tried not to notice how Alex's face softened.

"It sounded nice."

"When did you lose him?"

The very gentleness of the question, and the memory of Jon's picture in Sweetie's cab, had Lena speaking past her reflexive flinch. "Years ago. I was sixteen. My brother was home for once-- he's always so busy with the family assets-- and found him. Heart attack right at his desk at home. Part of me is still pathetically grateful that it wasn't me. Is that terrible?"

"No, I actually understand, at least to some extent. It was my dad that found Jon. And, yeah, I think I have that same feeling of being guiltily relieved it wasn't me. I don't think Dad'll ever get over that, getting over losing Jon at all."

"I saw the picture of them as little boys. I can't even imagine a friendship that long, much less suddenly being without."

Roughly clearing her throat, Lena cast about desperately for a change of subject, her eye falling on one of the wood-canvas paintings.

"So, you never finished telling me about your sister and her story with trees being stranger than mine?"

"True. Well, it's not a completely happy story, but it becomes that."

"I can handle that."

"So my memories are hazy, but I've heard the story often enough over time. I was just a little older than three and my folks had gone off for a play and an overnight in Tacoma, so Jon was watching me. And in the middle of the night, I woke up screaming bloody murder. There'd been a storm and at first Jon thought that's what had upset me, but the wind had died down. So, he finally calms me down and notices that it's super quiet outside and waaaaaay off in the distance he can hear a car horn. Except, weirdly, it keeps blaring and that totally sets off his hink meter. So, he bundles me up and gets us into his truck to head down the mountain. Now mind you, this is the middle of February, just two days after Valentine's Day, which is why my folks were out in the first place."

Lena was fascinated with the changes in Alex's expressive voice, her eyes a lifetime away.

"I remember the cold, and how it felt like something calling to me. I still can't really explain it. So, John comes to a car smashed under a huge hemlock, the headlights and horn just spluttering dead and that's when he hears the baby crying."

Lena's eyes widened in horror. "Oh no!"

"Yep. He could just barely get his arm in to pop open the carseat and wiggle her out. The collapsed roof and the tree missed her by inches. Left a little scar between her brows that's still there. She was cold and shivering and Jon tucked her into his coat and nearly tripped over me, because I was supposed to stay in the truck, but I was never good about listening. So he scooped me up and I could talk to the baby. Probably told her everything was gonna be okay."

It was a visceral image, and one that struck close to home and Lena's own hazy memories of being reassured, hand gently stroking her head.

"So, yeah, Kara's folks never knew what hit them, crushed instantly. It took a few days for a social worker to get out to us and by that time, we were all in love with her. He decided we were good caretakers, warned us not to get attached and went hunting. It took weeks to track down any information, including that she had no surviving family they could find. So we got to foster her for a long while and eventually adopt her."

With eyes suspiciously shiny, Alex cleared her throat and took a long pull from her cup.

"So, yeah, I'm militant about culling dangerous-seeming trees along our roads and ensuring there's native plants to reinforce steep sections of open ground. Spend a good chunk of late spring and early summers doing that, in fact. I'm still stunned and sorta appalled that two of them came down across the road, though I certainly can't complain about meeting you. We'd had a freakish warm streak before this big storm and I can only figure the ground was a bit soft and all that weight was just too much for them."

"I'm glad you saved us both."

Alex's grateful smile was wide beneath her teary eyes.

A suggestion of a quiet night in with a movie seemed like a fantastic idea after the emotional story, and after a bizarrely anticlimactic meeting between Bear and Sif, they all settled into the bed to watch. Cleverly, Alex's TV was mounted on a swivel so that she could simply turn the screen into the bed box.

After awhile, she was convinced Alex had fallen asleep, Sif sprawled out along her legs just as Bear did with Lena. When her sleepy voice spoke up, it was almost a shock. 

"So what are you calling him? I can see you're already attached."

Leaving off her idle stoking of the silky soft ears, Lena sighed and started up her petting again. "There's no use denying it, I'm attached. It shouldn't be a shock that I've been calling him Bear."

"Awww," Alex teased lightly. "No Bruce? It would fit my Marvel theme."

"Which one is Bruce?"

Gasping in laughing outrage, Alex was all smiles then. "Why, the Incredible Hulk, of course!"

"Does he look like an Incredible Hulk to you?" Lena giggled and palmed her new pal's nose in lieu of a kiss. He just wagged his stub tail like a blur and tried to wiggle impossibly closer. "The B-name theme is cute though."

Really, she had no idea why she was encouraging this. Except that Alex had one of those smiles that lit her up from the inside out and warmed everything it touched. Really, that was it. She had a nice smile.

"Buddy?"

The smile deepened and Alex added in, "Buddy's a good one. Baby-face?"

Lena scoffed and tried not to smile. Alex took that as a personal challenge, wracking her brain for anything that came to mind.

"Buster, Bonzo, Boris, Biggie, Bandit, Bacon?"

And Lena's delighted smile and matching laugh warmed the room more than any fire ever could. 

"Bacon!" she squealed through her merriment and the dogs were excited right alongside her, barking and squirming around, both licking her face.

She wasn't quite ready to recognize how much it felt like home.


	3. 12/24/17  You Made Me Yours

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Old ash deposits from Rainier turning the streams and rivers white? Totally factual.

At some point Lena woke to find the screensaver function on the TV and the fairy lights were the only illumination, making the bed a warm little cave of coziness. In their cool light, Alex was relaxed in sleep, looking young and sweet and…

Lena tried to quiet her wandering mind. Only half succeeding as sleep closed around her once more.

When she woke again, she wondered if she had dreamed it all. The bed was empty and felt too large around her. And it was harder to admit that she ached a little from it. What was happening to her?

The little sniffle got a soft scuffle of sound and Bear popped his head up to earn a little smile. He was dressed in his ripped shirt collar and a proper dog collar to boot. When she squirmed closer to hug him around the neck, she found that he was also covered in a voluminous… set of fleecey sweats.

Weirder, they were made for a dog. A slightly smaller dog by the way they clung to his big frame.

"Well, that's one way to stay warm. The way you're pulling at those seams, maybe I'll have to let Alex win this round and call you Bruce."

Despite a rumbling belly and a desperate need for coffee, Lena took advantage of the shower for a nice, luxurious soak. Then nudged Bear aside to begin the ordeal of the silly underwear, though at least they were soft. And clean. And no one was going to see them but her.

Just in time too, as the sounds of Alex's presence came through the flimsy door. Dressed in another of the thin, warm, sweat-wicking layers for under warm clothes, Lena joined her, relishing that smile.

"Good morning! So I have a proposition for you."

"Oh?"

"Since you haven't really seen the best part of this town, and I can somewhat guiltily play hooky today, how would you like to have an adventure or five? It's bitterly cold out there, but if we get you in a helmet and bulk you out to your chin, you'll be alright."

"That sounds fun. But Bruce the Bear first."

The name deepened that smile and Lena carefully ignored the squirmy way it made her feel.

"But Bruce the Bear first. What do you say, Buddy?"

With Sif clambering up first and with a little help from the humans, Bear managed to get into Sweetie's toweringly tall cab, though he was clearly disconcerted about the whole thing. Lena fit herself around him, the big body between her knees and Sif at her side. The pitbull was delighted to be riding on the seat and not the floor.

"Dad's truck would have been a better fit, but I do love driving this old girl."

Seeing Packwood at the bottom of a steep switchback, the highway and river ribboning beside it, was a supremely disorienting sight. Lena had truly been seduced by the small town she'd fallen into.

"I suppose I should try and track down some phone numbers, but I wouldn't even know where to start, particularly on Christmas Eve." Blinking, she realized what she had just said. "Huh. It is Christmas Eve, isn't it?"

Alex only smiled softly.

Sweetie seemed all the more like a tank amidst the trappings of cars and traffic lights and streets with curbs. Lena had to close her eyes a few times watching the bulk of the plow so far out in front of them navigate around. And she wasn't even driving, thank all the holies.

In an alleyway really not big enough for the military vehicle, Alex pulled to a halt and yanked a couple of leashes out of her pocket. "I'm not supposed to park here, so I'm going to drop you off with the dogs and go run a couple errands, okay?"

Even as Lena went to sputter a weak objection, Alex and Sif were out the driver's door. Despite Bear probably weighing as much as she did, Alex gently wrestled him to the ground and offered a hand to Lena.

"Joan is expecting us and she knows Sif. You'll be fine."

And Lena was left with a pair of large dogs in hand in a town she knew nothing about, once more wondering when she had lost control of her life.

Doctor Joan was a toweringly tall woman with a stern visage who was actually a big softy. Sif whined happily and nearly wagged herself off her feet greeting the woman, who pet and loved all over her. Bear was a perfect gentleman in being introduced and having his warm clothes stripped off and even being picked up to stand on the exam table. He wasn't fond of the bright light in his eyes, but just sort of sighed over it.

"You say he just showed up? Out of nowhere?"

"Yes. Alex seemed surprised as well."

Running a scanning device over the back of Bear's neck produced silence.

"Well, he's not chipped. So outside of keeping a picture of him in case anyone comes looking, there's not much else to be done. What are your plans for him?"

The question caught Lena completely off guard.

What was her plan for him?

Doctor Joan gave Bear's feet another gentle scrubbing and looked carefully over his pads and toes. "No sign of any cold damage and the scratches are minimal. You're a very lucky boy, Bear."

After a bit of salve rubbed all over his toes, Doctor Joan wrapped him up in blue flannel booties and both dogs were rewarded with a handful of crunchy biscuits.

"Well, he clearly belonged to someone at some point, because he's an excellent citizen. Maybe some odd recluse somewhere, or an irresponsible backcountry rider. Though who would be out in that storm, I have no idea. I'll pass on anything I learn to Alex."

"Thank you." 

Lena found herself in the utilitarian waiting room amidst the sacks of food and treats, the dogs sprawled out at her feet. When Joan stepped out a bit later, she was clearly surprised to find them still there.

"Alex isn't back yet, I take it?"

"I'm assuming she'll come get us, yes. Oh, and I meant to ask, is he a Doberman? I've never seen the coloring before."

"Certainly at least mostly Doberman, yes. The coloring is considered red. Handsome devil too, and I appreciate whoever didn't cut his ears. At least the tail docking makes some small sense in this climate and is usually done right out of the womb. Not so the ears. Archaic practice."

Fondling his soft ears, Lena smiled and split her attention on both dogs until Sif's attention was diverted by something the humans couldn't hear.

"Bet that's your ride," Joan encouraged and walked the trio out to the alley where Sweetie roared up. Even that couldn't faze Bear, amazingly. The dogs sniffed about, pulling mostly gently at Lena, while Joan passed on all the info to Alex.

"Hey, Bruce the Bear, you got new socks! Rock on!"

Even with said socks, Bear just needed a little push to climb into the truck and Lena followed him up. By the time Alex joined them, the pair of dogs were sprawled onto Lena as much as they could be in the confines of the cab and she was petting them with a soft smile.

"Y'know for someone who's never had dogs, you're really good with them."

Sweetie's movement pressed their weight into Lena and she steadied them with her hands. "They make it easy."

"It's really amazing how easy Bear is with this. Sif hated Sweetie at first. It took her ages to get used to the noise and the motions."

"He's such a strange dog, so aware and calm. It really does make me wonder where on earth he came from."

"Santa?" Alex teased gently. "Your magic Christmas Dog."

"Maybe you're right at that."

With the buildings of Midvale appearing along the roadside, Alex suddenly slapped her forehead. "Dammit, I'm sorry, I was going to take you shopping! And remind you to make some calls."

"That's okay, I'm holding up with what Chris has provided, though the little boy underwear is still disconcerting, and I wouldn't even know where to start in tracking down my real life without my own phone to guide me. Besides, I doubt anyone really misses me, at least not yet."

Alex desperately wanted to say something to reassure, but what could she say?

Once snug in the shop once more, Lena was in for another surprise when Alex led her to the staircase by the main door.

"Me and Kara spend most of our downtime up here, actually. We couldn't get permits to turn the space into a true living area, which sucks, but we managed what we could."

There was a second hearth to the left of the door to the second floor, and multiple doorways to smaller rooms. A big couch was so close to the doorway that it nearly blocked them getting in, but with the hearth right there, Lena understood why. The whole place smelled of fir tree resins and wood.

"My office is right here, and the south end is the main drying room. Kara's studio is the whole north third of this floor and there's a narrower attic above us with no heating where more wood is curing. She likes a variety to choose from."

A flick of light switches illuminated the sprawling room, broken up by the hearth, pipes running from floor to ceiling, a pool table and a small room plunked awkwardly in the middle. Wandering past the mortared stones, Lena marveled at the neatly stacked and leaned and hung pieces of wood. They were cut in all manner of shapes and sizes from tiny slices of branches to slabs the size of cars. There was a riot of woodworking equipment about, sanders and shapers and shop vacs to contain the mess.

"I can give you a better tour later if you like, but I brought you up here because a lot of our winter gear is up here, especially the older stuff. I love my work clothes, and they work great, but snowmobiling needs a bit more mobility. Here we go."

Back in the north corner by a set of double doors Lena assumed led to Kara's studio was a set of industrial racks stacked with bins and a wall of hooks containing enough gear to make it look like twelve people lived there. Lena had no clue what to make of the body armor panels fused to thick fabrics and a set of arctic mittens.

"Is all of this really necessary?"

"Hopefully not. But I'm not taking any chances with your safety. With either of our safety."

Just a couple days ago, Lena would have marched out the door. This was insanity. But she stayed, too intrigued to flee. When they trooped back down to the shop, Alex led them to the far corner where there was a big patch of outdoor carpeting and a small fleet of snowmobiles. There were a couple small, fast-looking ones and a pair of beefy monsters that looked like they could pull a tree right out of the forest. By the looks of some of the equipment ranged about in chaotic neatness, maybe they had. There was also an odd looking pod on a pair of skis with shock absorbers that was strangely shaped almost like a gigantic helmet.

"It's called a snowcoach," Alex said, clearly reading her curiosity. "For towing passengers. Or in my case, the dogs. We'll get geared up and give Bear a test run to see if he doesn't mind it. Then we're out of here."

Lena had never been so trussed up in her life. A thin layer against her skin, a middle layer of warm materials only half of which she recognized, and a black and emergency-yellow jacket that clashed horribly with the crimson red pants. Both dogs were nearly as layered up in sturdy boots and snowsuits and the tube-hats Alex called snoods. Bear's freshly laundered bear ears were back and contrasted with Sif's adorably silly red fleece.

Alex begged off for a few minutes to gather food and a few sundries, leaving Bear and Lena to look over the snowcoach. Sif eagerly hopped in, tail wagging and clearly excited to be going for a ride.

Something was clearly bothering Alex as she stomped back in, laden down with a full-sized cooler she slammed down into the largest of the snowmobiles, the one with the tall n-shaped bar on it with lights at the top. Taking a deep breath, she forced a smile and gestured to one of the many cabinets lining the wall.

"In that blue one is the last of the gear. You'll need a helmet. The white, graffiti-looking one is mine. If the pink and black fits, that would be great, because then we can communicate through the Bluetooth system. Try it with the balaclava on. Better to start out overwarm until you get a feel for the weather."

Tucking her ponytail into her collar, Lena pulled on her own facemask/snood/balaclava and pulled out the pink helmet. It worked well enough, and snugged up to her nose and mouth when she pulled the faceplate down. Alex strapped down a variety of gear, grabbed her own helmet, coaxed Bear into the snowcoach and hooked the silly-looking thing to the back of her beefy machine. With the plugging in of a few wires, a radio test of helmets and a helping hand to get settled, the machine roared to life. When the nearby door rolled up, it was pleasant to not have the cold be a slap in the face.

"I like the helmet so far."

Alex chuckled through the bluetooth and eased the snowmobile off the thin layer of carpet and onto the snow outside. She hopped off for a moment to close the rolling door, give the dogs a last check and hop back on.

"Hold on to me or the handles at your hips, okay? The ride can get a little bumpy sometimes, even though I promise to not do anything deliberately wild."

"Okay."

Lena hesitated only until the snowmobile pulled away, vibrating beneath her, engine loud, before she wrapped herself snugly around Alex. The pleasure of holding her vanished when she looked up and froze.

"Oh my god!"

There was something very important Lena hadn't noticed in her distraction with the dogs as they had driven back up from Packwood. The weather had cleared to painfully blue skies and above them, in all of its brain-bending vastness, lay the dormant volcano that was Mount Rainer. Soaring more than ten thousand feet above them, the peak dwarfed the snowy mountain range scattered about its feet and seemed to hold up the heavens themselves.

"You never really get used to it. Not even after a lifetime of being only six miles from the steepest slopes," Alex said, quietly reverent. 

There was nothing Lena could say to that and it took real effort to drag her eyes away from the looming presence of the mountain.

"Welcome to Midvale, Miss Luthor. Pretty, right?"

The valley was a long, slow slope flanked in by old stands of trees that marched away to the surrounding ridges and tapered off before several rocky points she could see ahead of them. The unspoiled beauty of the snowy scene was breathtaking.

They sped up the lone road up the valley with a variety of cabins and bungalows were tucked in alongside.

"This looks like a lot of houses for as few people I've seen here."

"You're right. Most of our population are snowbirds who are only here for the few warm months of the year. We range between about two hundred to six hundred people."

It was all hard to get her head around. Lena had spoken in front of crowds that could fill this town up three times over.

It didn't take long for the houses to fade out and the trees to loom up and that was where Alex paused. 

"You'll be glad and amused to know that Bear has curled up on the floor of the coach on one of the electric blankets I put in there for them. I've got a little camera in there to keep an eye out for trouble. If he gets agitated, we'll turn back."

"That's fair. But where are we going?"

"There's a trail."

"Are you serious? Where?"

"Hang on, city mouse!"

The trail seemed little more than a snowy ribbon through the trees that could only been seen for a dozen feet in front of them at any given moment. The fresh snow was no impediment to the powerful snowmobile and it whipped about them like a blizzard. Trapped between fear and adrenaline-soaked excitement, Lena held on like a python and just breathed. Then they exploded out into an open area and she was breathless all over again.

The little lake was hemmed in by a natural divot in the landscape and the ruins of some stacked stone building held court over an edge to perfect to be natural and that was where the snowmobile came to rest, falling silent. Strangely, steam drifted up in small, lazy clouds from the white-blue water still half liquid, even in the bone-biting cold.

"Welcome to Krypton Pond."

"Krypton? Like the noble gas?"

"Got it in one! The story goes that our founder, Miles Ramsey, was a wit and a nerd and got a kick out of sharing a name with one of the two brainiacs in Scotland and Britain the discovered the element. The other scientist was Travers, which Ramsey named the creek that runs through town. Also, when krypton is burned, like in a neon sign, it glows white and the waters around here are full of old ash from natural erosion and look white."

"Oh, that's what the color in the water is. Clever."

"There are also natural hot springs that keep the pond from freezing, no matter how cold it gets."

"I did wonder about the steam."

"Ramsey bought up this land just months after the gas was discovered and just months before President McKinley expanded what had been a national forest to make the nation's fifth national park."

"Chris mentioned that this was all a national park."

"Yep. We have a lot of very strict rules we have to follow, but it's worth it for the sheer beauty of it all. We keep this spot cleared of trees and undergrowth for the historical value of the old mill here and for recreation. There's picnic tables and a little floating dock for nice weather. So you up for seeing the lake at the top?"

Lena's eye followed the pointing hand, seeing a shallow saddleback in the distance. Well, she'd come this far, why not?

"You did promise an adventure, country mouse."

And Alex delighted laugh was covered up by the roar of the engine as they got underway once more.

Trail or no trail, it was an exhausting ride with snow flung everywhere, a shattered branch trying to take off both their shoulders and a long pause where Alex had to pull out a chainsaw strapped to the snowmobile to clear some debris. When they escaped the endless trees a second time, it was to find themselves up against a steep face of pristine snow and exposed rock. It was starkly beautiful, but terrifying.

"I've trusted you so far, Alex, but please tell me we're not crossing that."

A pat to her encircling hands was a reassurance. 

"No, it's not safe. Believe it or not, there's a trail on your right."

"Uh, that doesn't look any better…"

"It's there. I brought this machine because it can handle all our weight effortlessly and climb truly ridiculous angles."

"Is that what the odd looking bar at the ass end with the teeth is for?"

"Actually, yes. The town spent a fortune for this thing, but they let me use it for some fun too. Give me a chance, Miss Luthor, and I'll show you a view as good as being able to fly."

And something soft in her voice made Lena resettle her grip around that muscled waist and nodded, eyes screwed shut. The snowmobile eased forward, then backed the snowcoach down the slope before the skis tilted up, the wide tread a throb of gripping power against the punishing incline. The seatback cradled most of Lena's weight and she had to move her feet so that Alex could shift hers back against the angle.

They zigged and they zagged, adrenaline a beat of terrified anticipation against Lena's brain and heart until the snowmobile began to level off.

And she could only stare.

Without the visual impediment of the trees, Mount Rainier loomed even larger, its face a steep-sided work of art. The craggy wrinkles of mountain clustered about it were like the tousled bed of Mother Nature, the taller peaks around them standing sentinel in all their rocky, snowy glory.

Alex was sensitive enough to just sit quietly for long moments while Lena gawked, feeling how the desperate clutch around her body eased into an embrace.

"I hope it was worth the rollercoaster ride," Alex said softly and Lena snuggled into her back, resting their helmets together.

"Yes. It was worth it."

Eventually, snowshoes were fished out and Lena flailed about awkwardly getting used to them while Alex went to the coach to free the dogs. Sif took a flying leap and vanished into the deep snow. Bear barely poked his nose out, deciding that the toasty electric blanket was far more interesting than a romp. After the day he'd had yesterday, no one blamed him.

Lena gawked at the explosion of a snowball against her back and somehow managed to nail Alex back right in the upper chest so that the snow burst over her face, exposed with her helmet faceplate up. 

And then it was on.

Some dispassionate part of Lena's brain that was always concerned with her image and how she carried her weighty legacy, was horrified at the spectacle and figured that Alex was being a good older sister and letting her get in some good shots. The rest of her was just having some gleeful fun.

The snowcoach made excellent cover and they stumbled around it and made Bear stare at them and flick snow from his muzzle. It was half tripping and half making a wild tackle over the connecting bar to the snowmobile that won Lena the day. Their combined weight sent them flailing down the gentle slope a few lengths, the powder a muffling wall around them.

"Got you!" Lena crowed and unsnapped the helmet to yank it off and fight coughing in the hard iciness of the mountain air. Tugging both their balaclavas down revealed matching smiles. "Beginner's luck saves the day."

But the statement was more breathless than gloating. Because that smile? Up close? Was downright kissable. Somehow it seemed only right that Alex raised her head to meet Lena halfway, her lips warm beneath the coldness the environment left behind. Sweet and exploring became a pause, deep breath, the tightening of Alex's embrace, the kiss deepening to something hotter and sexier.

The confines of the helmet still wrapped around Alex's head and the bitter cold kept anything from really happening, but the ice was broken.

"I've wanted to do that since I met you after you'd woken," Alex whispered as she blinked away snowflakes falling from the walls of the trough they'd gouged. 

"Looking back? I think I was right there with you. About the kissing thing. But I suppose this isn't the best place?"

Picking up on her insecurity, Alex hugged Lena, hard. Despite the snow and the layers of warm clothes, she wallowed in the embrace. "We'll pick up this conversation later though?"

"Yes. I look forward to it."

So they fought the snowpack to get to their feet and stomped back up the slope to the dogs. Sif cavorted up and down the track they'd let in the snow and energetically plowed a few of her own, getting completely coated in the white stuff. The women stayed warm with thermoses of hot chocolate and savory broth from the cooler, also offering the latter to the dogs for a treat and hydration. Sitting side by side on the snowmobile's seat, they enjoyed the scenery and the peacefulness.

"So there's a lake at the bottom of this bowl and it feeds the millpond for most of the year since hot springs keep it warm enough for about nine months out of the year. Eventually, the stream just freezes up and makes an ice dam. And behind that high point above us? Paradise is there, on Rainier's flank. Part of me wants to drag us all up there, but I think you and Buster Bruce the Bear have had enough excitement."

That hot subtext rose up again, and Lena watched the brown eyes go smoky, her own heart rate bumping up in response. "At least of the snowy sort, yes."

And while the outing remained a glorious one, there was no going back from that distracting zing between them. Once a panting Sif barked forlornly for some help, Bear leaning out of the coach to eyeball her, the women stomped over to brush her off and get her settled away from the chill. The dogs snuggled together like old friends and beat their tails gratefully when Lena pulled some of the battery-powered blanket around them. Then the women got themselves back in their warm layers, stashed everything away and saddled up. 

There was a new layer of holding onto Alex now, Lena replaying the feeling of holding and kissing her.

"You should see this place in the summer. The lake is beautiful."

And Lena could no longer deny the appeal of the idea of being here in this environment for more than a stranded few days.

With a slow three-point turn, Alex got them headed back the way they'd come, making Lena squeak with choked terror as she simply roared straight down the steep slope and blasted into the trees.

Lena didn't dare look back at the potential chaos they might have left in their wake.

"You're going to knock ten years off my life!"

Alex only laughed and expertly wrestled the skis around trees and lumps in the snow that could be anything.

"That's a poor slope to dawdle on. Better to be ahead of danger than in the middle of it!"

Though the obstacle course of trees, they eventually rejoined their own tracks in the snow and Alex sped up, bouncing them along merrily.

"Dashing through the snow, in a one horse open sleigh!" Lena found herself singing, Alex happily joining in with a sweet soprano voice. It was a memorable moment in a day of memorable moments, just them and the forest and the feel of magic all around.

Twice they had to stop, once to check on the dogs and another when the big tread of the snowmobile became stuck. With a modular shovel constructed from pieces in Lena's backpack, Alex set to work digging a trench around the machine, Lena adding in the help of warmly gloved hands. Once they yanked the heavy machine into the trench, the coach lurching awkwardly behind it, they had the traction they needed to get moving again.

The long dusk led them home, the dimming sun dazzling their eyes through the dark lenses built into the helmets and casting wild shadows through the trees. Only the headlamps illuminated the way under indigo skies by the time they spotted lights winking in the trees.

"I think we can catch the tree lighting if we hurry. We've managed to miss that your nights here."

With the engine wailing, they fled down the valley, barely slowing up to turn in behind the shop and just catch an enormous tree lighting up in the darkness.

"Oh, it's beautiful!" Lena gasped and squeezed Alex hard.

The snowmobile pulled up behind the little crowd there, and fell silent. Alex hopped off to release the dogs and strode back to yank off her helmet and offer a hand to Lena. Also removing her helmet, Lena willingly accepted the offer, finding herself pulled into an embrace. Around them, the townsfolk had let cheering turn to a cheerful rendition of 'Oh Christmas Tree', their raised voices a whole different sort of magic in the cold mountain night. 

"I can't remember the last time I really enjoyed Christmas," Lena mused as she swayed with the stranger who was steadily reeling in her heart. Through the snug material of the balaclava, she could see the shape of Alex's smile.

"I'm glad you're here to spend it with me. You've been a gift, Lena." She jumped and half whipped around suddenly, her laughter blasting steam into the night air. "And you too, Bear. Nice timing."

Their romantic moment broken, the couple were open targets for cheerful locals and Lena found that she didn't mind at all. The banked fire was there and Alex stayed close, just as drawn as she was. After random hugs and well-wishes and several carols, Lena found herself once more in Alex's embrace.

"Can I take you somewhere for a more private celebration?"

"Oh, I want to, but--"

Chris popped up out of nowhere, Pepper jumping all over the budding couple in hello. "Now, Alex, you leave your mom to me." In a great red coat, white scarf and a jaunty Christmas hat, she looked more like Mrs. Claus than ever. She reached out and tucked little sprigs of greenery into the young women's collars and gave them a long look. "Now get home and enjoy your night, girls. Go on!"

With only another moment's hesitation, Alex nodded sharply and led away a willing Lena. 

"I have to say that I like this lady Santa Claus thing," Lena said happily as she hopped back onto the snowmobile and Alex started it up. "And your neighbors are good singers!"

"It's in the town charter. If you're not a passable singer of Christmas carols, you can't live here."

"Smartass."

They behaved themselves until the snowmobile slid to a halt on its carpet and fell silent. Then the balaclavas were ripped away and they could kiss with less impediment.

"God, you taste good," Alex groaned in between kisses. "If we take a quick half hour-ish to lock down our evening, we can tell the rest of the world to screw off for the night."

"Ugh, do we have to?"

Bear's nose poking her in the ass was answer enough.

"I'll get them fed and settled in for the night if you strip the bed. The least I can do is offer you clean sheets."

"Flatterer. I bet you can offer me more than that."

Alex only growled and bit softly at Lena's lip before forcing herself to herd the dogs off to their little room beside the apartment.

All right then, errands first it was. Leaving her snowy outer layer outside the door to drip dry, Lena finished stripping and found clean sheets in drawers under the bed. She didn't bother resituating the top covers properly, as she had every intention of roughing them up with Alex in short order. Poking at the big hopper above the woodstove had the temp bumping up as more pellets dropped and she decided a shower was in order.

Besides, if she were lucky…

"Lena?"

Bingo.

"In here, gorgeous. Come join me."

It would be a slightly tight fit, but who cared? It was warm and cozy and clean, as well as eliminated the fumbling at clothes. A bonus certainly not to be passed up!

Gratifyingly, Alex didn't hesitate, only moments passing before she slipped past the plastic curtain and they could admire one another. Both were slender and curvy in different ways. Alex was rugged working muscle, broad shouldered and strong hipped in contrast to Lena's narrow frame, slender from careful eating habits, but heavy-breasted.

Twining her arms around Alex's neck as she'd done before, Lena drew their bodies together, smiling coyly. "Much better without all those layers in the way."

"Agreed."

The back of the stone hearth was just a bit warm against Lena's back and she eagerly wrapped her legs around Alex and rubbed against that muscled belly. The rough quickie was fun and gave them a little taste of what the other liked. Then it was tender washing and drying and tumbling into the clean bed. 

For all that Lena had felt out of sorts in this odd little town, she found a sense of peace and home in being held close to Alex. She touched that coy little smile, traced it with her lips, happily welcomed her lover's greater weight pressing her into the mattress, lost herself in kisses and caresses.

For all that Lena had felt out of place, out of step with her life, something about this woman, layered and unique, made her feel like she had finally found a place to belong.


	4. 12/25/17,  Pieces Come Together

Warm and cozy, Lena woke reluctantly and got her bearings. The smile that bloomed over her face had a distinctly naughty edge as she took in her current situation. Who knew Alex would be a koala bear?

While Lena was no blushing virgin, she'd never played the field the way the media leeches loved to speculate. That said, she would normally not be a fan of being in bed with a human python, yet somehow she found herself actually snuggling back into Alex's larger body. Murmuring softly, Alex tightened her grip, pressing kisses to Lena's shoulder and nibbling at her skin.

"Good morning and Merry Christmas, Miss Luthor."

Humming with pleasure, Lena squirmed onto her back to pull her lover into a proper kiss. "To you as well, lover. You have been such an unexpected joy to me."

"The same. Now, you must need coffee and breakfast, hmm?" With that arrogant, enticing smirk, Alex knew she could get away with the teasing. Lena eagerly welcomed the weight of her, the press of silky skin, the tickle of hair and hands.

"That does sound nice," Lena hummed and pressed kisses to the strong nose and expressive mouth of her lover. "But letting you go will be hard."

It was an inadvertently loaded comment, their gazes lingering.

"Yeah," Alex whispered. "Hard to let you go."

The fell together with the sudden hot urge of star-crossed lovers fallen too far, too fast. They ignored words and the pull of two very different worlds that demanded very different things from each.

They didn't know what to call it, the fire that had built up, left them gasping and moaning at one another's touch. Sweaty and spent, they held one another in the afterglow as though they would be torn apart in any moment.

Sighing heavily, Alex rolled to her side and stroked over Lena's serious face. She got kisses on her fingertips and nose. "Coffee sounds great."

"You got it."

In a sober silence at odds with the happy day, they washed up and got to dressing in preparation of rejoining civilization. With something vulnerable in those expressive eyes, Alex brought out a neatly folded stack of what turned out to be the clothes Lena had arrived in. Silently, she took the fabrics and flipped through them, somehow not surprised how… unnerved they made her feel. Thousand dollar cashmere slacks and a designer sweater worth four times that, silk camisole and delicate underthings. They were the trappings that no longer felt completely comfortable.

"I washed them really briefly on delicate, just to freshen them up a bit, and had them laid out to dry in the shop." Alex's melancholy tone matched her smile. "I don't have a lot of experience with fancy things, but I want you to be comfortable."

There was a new sweetness in Lena's kiss and Alex looked a bit pole-axed. 

"Thank you. I do love this sweater, but might you have something more Christmassy to go with it?"

After a thoughtful moment, Alex brightened and raced out to return a few moments later, face wreathed in delight. "We're awful about getting rid of anything-- it's a small town isolation mentality-- and Kara loved these, but outgrew them."

'They' turned out to be green and white striped cotton leggings, worn butter-soft that set Lena to giggling. With some thick fleece pants in a cheerful red tartan pulled over them for warmth, she felt quite festive. Alex stuck to khaki pants that had Lena wanting to grab her ass, and a white cotton button-up that leant some weight to a Christmas sweater so gaudy all Lena could do was try not to laugh. The little bowtie shaped like holly leaves and festooned with cheerful ribbons from which dangled a trio of jinglebells finally reduced the city mouse to hysterics, which Alex grinned at and kissed away.

Over her storm-cloud grey sweater, Lena shrugged on the jean jacket, just as she had the first day. It was quite clear that Alex loved her in her clothes, but the brown eyes remained melancholy.

Lena sympathized.

"I'm not getting that back, am I?"

In response to the teasing tone and the thrum of real emotion beneath it, Lena's voice was warm and teasing. "Not yet anyway." 

Once ready to leave, Alex startled and her smile was delighted when Lena slipped her hand into hers. "Whatever happens, Alex, I will never regret you."

"Oh Lena, me too."

They almost didn't make it out of the crowded little apartment again after that.

While Lena went to go hang out with Sif and Bear, Alex hung back for a few minutes, joining them with a bundle of mismatched green flannel in her hand. After feeding the dogs, she asked Lena to go check the snowmobile and the coach, as they had a short trip to make.

"Not the diner?"

Alex's adoring smile deepened at Lena's clear disappointment.

"Christmas Day is a different ritual, but you'll like this one."

In a few minutes, everyone was in the same place once more, Alex bulked up in her heavy winter work gear, the pink 'DEO' patches standing out against the Carhartt canvas. It was a bit jarring to Lena, seeing her as she'd been that very first day, a kind stranger, instead of her sweet lover.

But there was no stranger in the long, hot kiss.

Alex scrounged up a slouchy red beanie, amusingly also Carhartt, and an enormous canvas jacket to pull over the denim. "That one was Jon's. He'd appreciate it being used."

At a loss for words at the meaningful gift, Lena let herself be helped into the snowcoach with the dogs clambering after her. She watched Alex strap down a large box and a lumpy bag onto her ride before the machine roared to life.

"Buckle up," Alex voice said from nowhere and Lena startled, finally looking up to the tiny camera and speaker above her. "Next stop, the mayor's house."

Christmas day was as sunny and beautiful as it's eve, and Lena ogled the scenery as it sped by. The coach was comfy, if not a bit drafty, but she missed snuggling into Alex. They bounced up the road and turned off into the trees, where an enormous, lodge-like house stood sentinel on a wide ridge jutting off the great slope behind it.

There was a variety of trucks, SUVs, UTVs and snowmobiles scattered over a large roundabout in front of the magnificent house. Sticking to the fringes to avoid the bare asphalt that would tear up her skis, Alex parked and hurried over to open up the coach. Sif was out like a shot, barking joyfully and getting answered by other canine voices. Bear stayed with his humans, looking dapper in his bowtie and Christmas sweater and red booties.

"Come on, Christmas angel," Alex flirted and laughed when Bear licked her chin. "Not you, silly boy, but maybe both of you."

"Flatterer," Lena chuckled as she squirmed around to awkwardly clonk her boots onto the door frame and get some help wriggling out of the hatch. With much giggling and carrying on, the couple managed it, turning the effort into a cuddle up against the vehicle's side. "My hero."

Like their first kiss out in the snow, the cold was a delicious contrast to warm lips and breath while they took a few last moments of private intimacy. 

"I'm not ready to share you," Alex growled and the possessive note there gave Lena a thrill. Nibbling at that lovely lower lip, she flirted outrageously, voice soft and low.

"There will be plenty of Christmas later, lover. I'm in no hurry to be anywhere."

A stray thought passed through her mind then. Seattle. There was a property in Seattle that Mom or Lex were overseeing. What was the name of it again? The sensation of Alex's hands roving and her mouth straying served to derail Lena's thoughts. Later. She'd see about getting some information a bit later.

Only an arriving truck broke up the impromptu make out session, Chris' face wreathed with dry amusement when she rolled down her window. "Merry Christmas, girls."

The barking almost drowned her out and Alex grinned sheepishly and gave Lena a last peck before trotting around the truck to retrieve her erstwhile spaniel. "Merry Christmas, Chris. Thanks for taking Pepper. I'll go put her with the rest of the town pack. Back in a minute!"

"Enjoying your stay, honey?" the older woman teased and laughed at the slow blush on fair cheeks that was from more than just the cold. 

Parking the truck and stepping out revealed Chris dressed in Christmas finery that Santa himself would approve. She even had a red bag over her shoulder, making Lena grin like a kid. When Alex trotted back, a savory smell was brought along on the breeze at her back.

"Oh, what's that," Lena almost whispered, ready to drool at the scent. 

"That is a whole roast pig that takes two days to prep and cook. Ridiculous, right? We adapted years ago to things we didn't have to cook or heavily prepare the day of."

Alex picked up the thread as she retrieved her two bundles, Lena grabbing the lumpy sack. "And it's the only way Mom will chill for the day. Come on, Bear, you stick to Lena's side. Good boy."

The toweringly tall front door led to a quiet hall and the two locals turned away from the noise, Lena dutifully following. Their first stop was a classy room of raw slate floors, elaborate laundry facilities and a wall of open wooden lockers. "Handy," she said admiringly and stripped off her warm layers. Except for the jacket. She really was nowhere near ready to give that up. There were even towels which she used on Bear's socks. "No need to be rude to our host with dirty paws."

Both locals looked at her with indulgent fondness. 

Half the town was already there, crowding the sprawling house decorated to the nines with festive cheer. It was both familiar to Lena in its finery and completely foreign in its warmth. There were cheesy popsicle reindeer alongside delicate hand-blown glass ornaments, realistic carvings cavorting with goofy little stuffed toys, beautiful garland vying with popcorn strung on thread, flaking starchy dandruff to the tree skirt and presents beneath.

Garland draped everywhere was a mix of real boughs and the horrid fake stuff that made Lena glare at it. More odd ornaments hung from it, false icicles, little figurines of Peanuts characters and whole armies of superheroes. Though Lena couldn't figure out the fleets of spaceships. Strings of lights were used with an expert, sparing hand, glittering like tiny, colorful stars.

"There you are, slacker!"

The owner of the mock-severe voice was an attractive blonde built like a whippet and just a bit shy of Lena's height. She smirked as Alex gave her an affectionately exasperated eyeroll. "Oh dear, the work wife has caught me out."

The drollness of the comment made Lena bring her hands up to cover a giggle.

"Cheater! I want a divorce." 

For a moment they playfully glared at one another before mutually huffing with amusement.

"Lena, this is Mayor Cat Grant, my boss and one of the reasons the job is fun."

"Oh, only one of the reasons?"

When the older woman got a good look at the completely amused Lena, there was a very distinct flash of recognition in those blue eyes. It was a jolt to Lena. She'd become so used to the anonymity of this new slice of life that her armor was down. And something about her vulnerability silenced Cat's sharp tongue and she merely shook Lena's hand. "I hope everyone has been as wonderful and kind to you as they were to me when I was a stranger."

Despite the comment encompassing the whole town, Lena only had eyes for Alex. "They have been, yes."

There was nothing but fondness in Cat's harrumph and that caught Alex's attention back. "Go on then, replace me with a younger, hotter model. I'm not upset."

Shaking her head and chuckling, Alex hugged her tiny pal right off her feet and made kissy faces at her until Cat playfully shoved her away.

"Oh get, you mongrel."

Food was coming out then, a multitude of casserole dishes and cake tins and fancy bowls full of good things to eat.

"We do a potluck every year. It distributes out the food prep stress pretty equally," Alex explained as she wrapped Lena up in a back to front hug. "I dragged up a beer keg and other booze a few days ago. Everyone knows better than to let me anywhere near food prep. And here comes the crowd favorite. Good thing you're not a vegetarian."

Held flat between two greasy, drippy steel mesh plates that required four people to carry safely, was indeed a whole, butterflied pig cooked slowly until it was falling apart. A huge tray had been slung beneath the rig to catch the drippings and provide a safe landing zone and the crowd immediately started queuing up to pick over the feast. Lena was somewhat horrified at the sheer amount of interesting little spoonfuls she had accumulated before a grinning Jeremiah deposited a fist-load of succulent pork atop the whole mess. Alex commandeered an oversized leather chair just big enough for two if they were friendly, pulled up one of the tiny folding tray tables scattered all over and they set to work on their early lunch. 

Maybe it was the mountain air, or the amount of activity she'd seen, or the company she was keeping, but Lena would swear that the food around this bunch of people actually kept getting better. Bear laid out at their feet and behaved himself, staring beseechingly with those soulful eyes. Lena happily left him a few scraps and set the plate on the floor to be cleaned.

He was just finishing up, his people leaning into a snuggle in the big chair, when a black cat hopped up out of nowhere, startling Lena. It was wearing a full-bodied red fleece sweater, patterned with little holiday trees and gold stars.

  
(Yes, I know this is a tuxedo cat, but the outfit is perfect!)

"Elphie?" Alex said, her voice shocked and immediately sat up, nearly knocking Lena from the chair. "Kara?"

It happened all at once.

From the milling crowd, the blonde Lena had only seen in pictures, spotted her sister and lit up just as beautifully as any Christmas tree, then her gaze shifted to Lena and her whole body went shocked. Then…

Then it was Lena's turn to gape as stepping up behind Kara… was her mother.

Lillian looked as disheveled as Lena had ever seen her, exhaustion and worry having worn her elegance down to something gentler, more approachable.

"Kara!"

"Mom!"

It got weirder.

After trading startled looks, the lovers were descended on, Lena having only a moment to gawk at not just her mother, but Lex and Jess and Sam and even Ruby, before the whole pack of them crushed her into a suffocating group hug.

The Luthors were not a demonstrative family. Too many eyes on them, too many expectations and demands and paranoias. So Lena hardly knew what to make of this babbling, sobbing mess her family and closest intimates made.

"We were so worried, Lena," Lillian said, cupping her daughter's face, tears in her eyes, and Lena could only stare in wonder. They had always been so fractious, from the moment Lena had come to them as a small child, wounded and alone. Lillian was not a naturally warm woman and this wild spark had always baffled her.

"You were… worried?"

"Frantic is more like it," Lex said, his voice aggressive, but his eyes vulnerable with relief now that his sister had been found, his strong arms wrapped around what was left of his family. When he spoke again, his voice was broken with unshed tears. "God, Munchkin, when the Paradise Lodge said you had never shown up, we were terrified for you."

Relief and adoration and guilt swirled up in Lena and her expression was sheepish despite her blinding smile. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make anyone worry. A tree fell on my car and I got trapped here and just got caught up."

Again, she was squashed by her relatives and soaked it up. 

"We're just glad that you're okay," Lillian murmured and finally let up enough that Lena could then get pounced on by her pals.

"Sam! Jess! What-- how--?"

"Jess called me, frantic, and I called your brother and then he was just as freaking out and Ruby and I agreed that helping find you was more important than our little plans and we hopped on a plane to Seattle."

That floored Lena as much as her mother's open emotion. "You guys left your holiday plans… for me?"

Ruby was the last one to get in a hug. "Well sure, we had to make sure my cool aunt was okay."

It was all overwhelming, tears mixing with Lena's smile.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaalex!" Kara's little sister outrage broke up the heavy moment as she flailed at her baffled sister. "What the hell! How can you not know who the Luthors are? It's small town USA, not Mars!"

"What are you jabbering about?"

"She's been missing for three days! The media has been in a frenzy as bad as her family. I never thought she'd be here with you! I can't believe you kidnapped Lena Luthor!"

Alex's look of shock, mixed in with some vulnerable irritation, had Lena patting her family and friends. "Can you guys give us a moment? There's excellent eating and I promise to stay right here."

When Alex startled at her touch, Lena felt it like a blow. Her lover, sweet and strong and self-assured, looked completely unnerved. Cat and Chris appeared and gently encouraged the strangers away to settle their rattled nerves, but Kara was clearly not going anywhere. She made a startled noise when Lena pressed in to gently kiss Alex, easing some of her shock.

"I'm sorry, Alex. I never meant for any of what I am to affect you. You've been so amazing to me, how could I not fall head over heels for you? But, yes, I have brought a unique chaos to your doorstep. That I regret, because you're so happy at exactly what you are and no one should change that."

Eliza, approaching her daughters, was brought up short by that. Years of desperately wanting bigger and better for her eldest had only driven a wedge between them. And here, this rich, chic, famous woman dropped into her life and had shown far more acceptance than her own family. Well, that would have to change.

Tentatively, Alex's smile came back and she stroked Lena's cheek. "We haven't had a lot of time to get to know one another."

"We haven't. Could we change that? I'd like to stay around, take a chance with you. If you'll have me."

Alex's crushing hug was answer enough.

The Luthors and company were delighted to meet the nice local who saved their Lena, even if they were a little nonplussed at how Lena clung to her hand like a lifeline. Kara was warier, but couldn't stop herself from looking all sweet and melty at how Alex clearly adored this stranger. Still, she found the first opportunity she could to continue her haranguing. 

"Dammit Alex, how could you not remember that name? Not only are they all rich and famous and interesting and good looking, they commissioned that massive piece I've been working on for nearly a year. And the information tower? That it's paying for?"

Before Alex could reply, another shock landed in their laps when another new body stumbled in, two strangers on her heels.

"Susan!" The sisters yelled and pounced on her for bone-creaking hugs.

"I got here as soon as I could. We haven't had any luck finding that missing woman anywhere up at the lodge and the phone lines are still spotty as hell and… and she's standing right behind you. Oh, this ought to be good."

Lena felt like she should sheepishly wave.

"She was a rescue from one of the tree falls on the road," Alex explained before rounding on her sister. "And Kara! You know I don't interfere with your work! The last time I did that we were still in high school and you didn't talk to me that entire summer! And Susan, why didn't you just radio down to town?"

"Because that storm blanked any communication out for two days and it never would have occurred to me, that had she been alive and well, she wouldn't have eventually showed up at the lodge or contacted her family?"

The droll delivery made Lena flush and look shamefaced. "Yeah, I'm really sorry about all the chaos. It really didn't occur to me how everyone would worry." Her face was achingly vulnerable as she looked over where her own loved ones were being catered too by the locals. "I'm really glad they're here. Even if I'm really blown away by it."

Alex cuddled her, the two of them breathing together for long moments. "Didn't I say you were good luck? Look at all the Christmas miracles you brought to us. Starting with Bear."

Steadfast Bear pressed into their hips, nose upturned, tail going like a motorboat propeller. 

"My good boy," Lena praised him and stroked his soft face and ears. "Thank you for breaking the ice with me. It made connecting to everyone else easier. You will always have a home with me, okay? I promise."

He just whined softly and pressed impossibly closer.

"Hey, this is as good a time as any." Letting Lena loose, Alex knelt and pet Bear, her expression sweet and a bit sad. "So, I know words don't mean much to you, but you remind me of my friend, Jon. So, in honor of him, and that beat up shirt collar you were wearing when Lena found you, I got into Jon's flannel shirts, the ones I couldn't bear to part with, and snipped off the collars of the rattiest two. So, now we can swap them out to be laundered, okay?"

That stub tail wagged as Alex buttoned the collar around his neck and smoothed her hands over the worn soft material.

"He would have really liked you."

Bear just licked her face and pressed in to be hugged.

Shaken up from thinking about Jon, Alex allowed herself to be pulled up into a hug.

"I'm not normally such a crier," she tried to deflect and Lena pulled back only enough to give her a long look, though her voice remained gentle.

"Alex, you lost a parent. That's a huge deal."

"He wasn't--"

"Yes, my sweet darling, he really was."

Alex clung harder then, sobbing into the softness of dark hair and expensive sweater. When Lena gestured for a traumatized-looking Kara to come closer, the younger sister didn't hesitate a moment in wrapping herself around Alex's back. Everyone else studiously ignored the trio to give them some privacy.

Finally, Alex let up with a deep breath and raised her head. "Thanks, I think I needed that. I think we could all use a little quiet and a stiff drink. If you herd your family into that back wing, over there behind the hearth? It's quieter back there. I need to go hug my folks and I'll join you."

Lena kissed her, sweet and soft. "You got it."

Before Alex could step away, she looked towards the front door and her expression was both happy and wry. "Or, more chaos could walk in."

Looking surly and yet happy to be there was an exhausted Lucy with a familiar face and a stranger flanking her.

"Hey! Lookit who I ran into at the airport!" she yelled into the assembly, who dutifully looked over.

"Mom!" Carter yelled happily and Cat lit up with joy.

"Carter!"

With them was a strange, tattooed woman looking around the fancy house in wonder. Lucy rambled on. "Lois and I decided to ditch out on my asshole father, and go us for actually agreeing on something, whoo hoo. And I'm too drunk and pissed off to be alone! This is... whas your name again? Oh who cares! My Lyft driver from Seatac. Get her a drink!"

Alex gave Lena a last kiss and went to collect her school buddies who had been like sisters to her since she was little. After a loaded look, Kara followed so that the four women could engulf first Eliza and then Jeremiah in hugs.

After a few moments, Alex climbed up on a chair and ringingly tapped a spoon against the heavy tumbler she held. "Hey guys? If everyone could grab a drink? This has to be done, no matter how it hurts."

The crowd babbled into compliance, their attention to where she stood, straight and elegant and so hurting. "This spring we lost Jon Jones with devastating suddenness and none of us have been the same since. We've done a lot of healing and moving on, but with today being Christmas, it's hitting home again. Let's celebrate him and what he meant to all of us and this town. Thank you, all of you, even you new folks, for helping us get through this."

"He's here in spirit," Chris called out and made no attempt to hide her tears.

"He absolutely is. To Jon!"

Glasses were raised all over the room, voices filling the suddenly quiet space. "To Jon!"

Having drunk to the man who helped shape the amazing woman she'd fallen for and the lovely town around her, Lena collected her family and dragged them off to the smaller social space at the north end of the house. The room was cozier, well lived in and overlooked the glorious view of the town below. It was mercifully empty and she could collapse to a couch there, not objecting when Lex sat beside her, nearly dragging her into his lap to be hugged tightly.

Lillian sat beside them, joining the cuddle. "I'm so sorry that it took something so traumatic to rally us to you, Lena."

Lena soaked up the affection and leaned her head over to rest it against the graying hair of the only mother she remembered. "You're here now. We'll all make that count."

While Ruby curled up in one of the overstuffed chairs, Sam and Lena brought neglected wine glasses back to the Luthors. Sam boldly parked herself right on the coffee table while Jess hung back. Twisting a bit so she was perched on the edge of Lex's knee, Lena offered a welcoming hand to her longtime assistant. Hesitantly, Jess accepted the unexpected touch.

"We've worked together a long time, haven't we Jess?"

"Well, yes, we have. What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I think. Did you know that you are really good at what you do? My life would have crushed me years ago without you."

The startled pleasure on Jess' face made Lena smile. She knew exactly how that felt, the shock from the change in tone and direction.

"Well… thank you, Miss Luthor." 

"I know this is going to sound insane, Jess, but I'd really like to be just Lena for awhile. Could we do that?"

"You'd like me to call you… Lena?"

The name sounded far too odd in Jess' familiar voice, the tentative question laced with a warm amusement that reassured Lena.

"I really would. And I'm certain you have a million details about the life I got yanked out of, because you're amazing and you always do, but I just can't find it in me to give a damn about it all right now. Call it a crisis of faith, or of self rather. I'm just glad you're here and maybe I can get to know you a little better?"

In all their years together, Lena had never seen her good right hand look so delighted. "I'd like that. Think I could persuade my boss for a few days off?"

They all laughed in appreciation of the quip.

Suddenly, the black cat was back, jumping up on Ruby to give her a sniff, accept a pet, and bounce over to sit imperiously on Lillian's lap. Bear was hot on the cat's tail, but not in a malicious way, for which Lena was incredibly thankful for.

"Oh, hello there, Elphie," Lillian said calmly and began skritching the cat's ears and tucking her hand under the sweater to rub her side. Immediately the little animal settled with her legs tucked up and began purring like a diesel engine. "She spent most of the drive here in my lap. I think I'm beginning to get accustomed to her."

"Kara's cat," Lex explained, pulling his sister into a giggly hug. She'd missed being close to her family and was so happy. "She tells us she doesn't like driving alone."

Sam picked up the thread. "And it was the damnest thing, seeing the cluttered art install space and this cat in a body harness tethered to her toolbox, just hangin' out."

"Wait, Kara, the kid sister was-- Oh! She's the local artist you were telling me about! Of course she is. How bizarre that I should end up here, almost in her place."

With a sly grin, Sam started up the round robin teasing that Lena knew was inevitable. "So Kara spent quite a lot of our very long drive telling us all about your renaissance woman lumberjack gay."

"Chainsaw."

"The ridiculous truck?"

"Does handywoman work for everyone in town, and can fix anything?"

"Except plumbing I hear."

"Does all the wood artisan work for Kara's wood canvases."

"And I hear there's rustic furniture making? Sexy."

"Kara insists it's the best furniture in town."

"Oh no, the whole state."

Sam fondled the collar of Lena's jacket with a raised eyebrow. "Jean jacket lined in shearling."

"This is Hallmark movie material," Jess added with mock gravity, echoed in Lex's reply.

"Most definitely."

Lillian got in the best shot, her eyes merry. "We look forward to getting to know your Alex-of-all-trades."

They all enjoyed the laugh, even Lena, despite her embarrassment. Then her eye was caught where Alex had set down a tray of heavy crystal glasses around an equally fancy decanter in order to give one of the townsfolk a hug and a bit of conversation. Her heart felt like the Grinch's, grown three sizes in how this place and this woman made her feel. "She's all of that and more small town tropes besides. But look at how cute she is about it. Oh, and she's never getting this jacket back, I hope she can accept that."

Patting her brother, Lena squirmed away.

"Let me go rescue her and I'll be right back."

When Lena sidled up into Alex's space, her smitten grin was a perfect excuse to get out of the delaying conversation and her companion wandered off. Not wanting any more interruptions, Lena draped herself all over her lover, relishing the strong arms around her.

"So a flock of little birds have been telling me great things about you," Lena purred as she pressed kisses all over the proud face.

"Oh yeah?"

"Along the lines of, 'Alex is the most wholesome, nice, all around good guy that everyone knows and likes in town.' Apparently your sister chewed their ears off about you on the drive up."

The blush was a pretty contrast as it crawled up Alex's neck and cheeks.

Cat's voice suddenly broke in as she walked over to add a wine bottle to Alex's tray. "Who was a horrible teen that they loved but considered leaving out as bear chow. Or so I hear."

"We're you awful?" Lena teased and basked in Alex's mischievous smile.

"The absolute worst. But the grow up was real, and me and the town survived and I became the person I want to be."

"Certified EMT, forester, lumberjack, mechanic, tow truck driver, handywoman, certified electrician, delivery monkey, scientific consultant, woodworker, mover of snow, and tormenter of little sisters."

Alex's delight was like a living thing, lighting her up from the inside and Lena basked in it.

"You were listening!"

"Of course I was darling, I want to get to know you so much better. Oh, and I'm terribly curious about the woodworking, baby."

"Hmm? Oh, that's just for fun and to help Kara out. Gives me something to do when we're pinned down by weather."

"Don't let her be modest, Lena," Cat broke in on their flirting. "She's every bit as amazing an artist as her sister. When you have time for a tour, I'll show you what she built in this house."

"You helped with this beautiful place?"

"Well… yeah. Umm, me and Jon did a lot of the finish work. The house was a custom kit build from a local-ish company. But yeah, we did most of the interior."

Lena stared shrewdly at Alex for long moments while Cat's smile grew ever more delighted.

"Seriously, what can't you do? And the plumbing and cooking thing is not a deal breaker. I have enough basic skills to keep us from starving."

Cat cackled and gave her lone city employee a hard shove, nearly unbalancing her. "Ha! You've found a good match, Captain Amazing. Keep her or I'll fire you."

With that parting shot, Cat sashayed over to speak with the newcomers while the new couple hung back for a minute more, just peaceful with one another.

"I just wanted to let all of you know that you're welcome to stay," Cat invited their unexpected guests. "I can sleep-- I think it was fifteen at last count-- in actual beds with a few doubling up, and that doesn't include any couches or other soft surfaces."

"If she has that many beds, how did I get stuck with you?" Lena teased and chuckled into the kiss Alex warmed her with.

"Just lucky I guess. And getting hit in the head. How does your head feel anyway?"

The question was half serious and half teasing and Lena just kissed her sweetly. "No dizziness. Except what you inspire."

Finally, they joined the others, Alex setting down her tray and asking if anyone wanted a glass of brandy. No one said no. Picking up the dark green wine bottle, Alex gestured Ruby over and the child was too intrigued to resist.

"So, this is for you especially. See, Cat here knows some apple growers in Eastern Washington that have some of the finest fruit in the state. They bottle some of it with CO2 bubbles for fun."

"Cool, thanks. I like apple juice."

"Oh, trust me, this will be the finest juice you've ever had."

With a folding tool pulled from a pocket, Alex popped off the metal cap and handed over one of the fine crystal glasses. The look of awe on the kid's face was priceless. 

"Good," Alex said with satisfaction. "Our state will not be shamed in it's appledom. If we're cute about it, I bet we could flatter another bottle out of Cat later."

Ruby giggled, clearly as smitten with Alex as everyone seemed to be. Lena hugged herself to Alex's side and nuzzled a kiss onto her cheek.

\----

It was a glorious day all around. For the first time in so many years it was a foreign experience, Lena had a chance to just sit with her mother and brother and just… talk. Besides, they were eager to admit that her stance on conservatives had merit and any impediment they may have made in her realizing her book was a huge error and they were really, really sorry.

She was so proud of both of them as they interacted with the locals just as easily as they did with the social elite. Lillian seemed particularly charmed with Chris and the contrast between them was hilarious. Lena couldn't remember the last time she'd actually heard her mother laugh and it warmed her.

"Think that will be us in thirty-some years?" she teased Alex when she walked up and earned a delighted laugh.

Kara loosened up after a bit, seeing how smitten her sister was with this stranger. Plus, she was an awkward bean and blushed adorably at both Jess and Susan's frisky little squirrel of a protégée flirting with her. She caught a break when Susan dragged said protégée off in a headlock and was able to actually communicate in full sentences for awhile. 

Once Lena actually got a chance to talk with Kara, they hit it off with an ease that startled both of them. While Alex was a low, warm woodfire that kept back the chill, Kara was a field of summer wildflowers in the blazing sunshine. Lena found herself fascinated with both of them and sensing the relief that they all got along so well. The Danvers sisters were a tight-knit unit still reeling from a visceral loss and integrating someone new would be no easy thing.

Alex had taken a shine to Ruby and awkwardly bundled up in clothes far too big for her, she enjoyed a joyful ride on the big snowmobile with Sif and Pepper chasing them, barking their silly heads off. 

Lena bravely approached Susan and Lucy, who were understandably curious. They knew the Danvers from the boarding school they'd all attended for most of their formative years. Lena was fascinated how opposite they were, Lucy the tiny firestorm of sharp humor with presence like a bullhorn and laid back Susan, equally commanding in a quiet, effortless way.

When Lena apologized once again for the stresses she'd inadvertently caused, Susan accepted it with a nod. 

"You'll have to pass that onto my sidekick. Luckily she had a copy of that Vanity Fair article of yours from a couple years back and tore the page out herself. Nearly wept doing it too because it's that special layout of snow sports and half her idols are in it."

Lena winced and filed the information away. "Ouch. I'll have to find her a new copy."

She also took Cat up on her offer of a tour, eager to see the rest of the house and catch a few peaceful moments away from the chaos of the day. The house was almost more of a stunner in the more private areas, with lush suites and a master apartment with its own kitchenette, reading nook loft and an elaborate spa and fireplace made of artfully tumbled stone next to a glass wall with a killer view. Not to mention the bathrooms!

"I'm glad you love the house. Here, come sit for a moment. Please."

Not sure of the gravity of the moment, Lena still did as she was asked, basking in the view over the valley below.

"I loved the life I had before this place, but it broke me," Cat spoke quietly, but firmly. "It took a lot of time and pressure, but my mental tree branch finally gave way. To this day, I still have no recollection of a few hours missing from that day. Even under hypnosis, it's all a blank, as though my brain just stopped working. Anyway, those were a few rough weeks and I finally packed my bags and just drove. Left everything behind and vanished. Found myself here where Chris and Eliza and Jon and Mrs. Sanchez and everyone else held up some of the larger pieces until I could sort of stick them back in place. And I've become a new version of myself." 

The smile was gentle as memories fled from the blue eyes and Lena nodded, not sure what she had to offer to the strange interaction. No matter, Cat kept talking, her voice brisker now. 

"Now, a lot of people don't get a chance like that, to throw themselves into the void, dive deep, and see what they become. It's a terrifying gift. In the spirit of that, I'm making you an offer. This has always been too much house for me, but when I first came here, big and fancy was all I knew. When Carter was still here, I could make excuses, but now, it's just too much. Would you take it? I promise we can come to some reasonable deal."

And Lena stared at her in shock, her mind replaying the details about the fine house, the loving craftsmanship left by her lover and the father figure she missed so dearly and barely managed to squeak out past the lump in her throat, "deal."

"Just don't forget that you'll also be inheriting every major holiday and the possibility of never having the pool be empty."

"Wait, there's a pool?"

"Oh, we never did make it over to the other buildings, did we?"

"There's more?"

"As I said, big and fancy was my default back then. And I had major insecurity issues in competing with Carter's father and went wildly overboard in trying to make this a teenage boy's paradise. There's even a small barn away from the house that would have been turned into stables had Carter not gently reined me in."

And Lena had to laugh, finding a kindred spirit in this stranger.

When they rejoined the party, Lena found her brother and Alex talking animatedly. It was sweet and a little disconcerting to see him look nearly as twitterpated as she felt. When he spotted her, that boyish grin was too much to resist and she rushed over to hug them both.

"Is this why you never went on second dates with people I set you up with? You were after rustic and frickin' brilliant? Why didn't you tell me you had a brainy, butch lumberjill type?"

"In my defense, I didn't know," Lena replied distractedly as she kissed Alex's smile and Lucy's playfully derisive voice broke in as she approached. 

"Butch. Yeah right."

How Susan even heard the comment no one could guess, but she seemed to materialize out of nowhere to harass her pal. "You can't be judgey Lucy Lane! You'd have tapped that it you could."

"True…" 

"You and half the fancy girls school had a thing for Alex."

Embarrassed, Alex sighed. "Thanks for reminding me of teenage Lucy's wayward shenanigans."

"Hey, you were a Casanova, Danvers. She's just annoyed you never made out with her."

"Rude!" 

Chuckling over Lucy's sass, Alex had to add, "you two can't really talk. I remember walking into some hanky-panky between you two before I had to drag Vas out to make our getaway."

"You did not just say hanky-panky," Susan mocked even as Lucy nearly yelled.

"Well who the fuck else was I going to practice with?"

"We were all better off as friends."

"Thank god it didn't get awkward. "

"Speak for yourself. Alex made fun of me for a month after that."

Alex squeezed Lena close and flirted outrageously with her. "Ignore this pack of lies, sweetheart. You see, there was another Alex, an evil Alex. And I killed her."

The roar of amusement startled everyone within fifty feet of the little group.

\----

Even the best of days have to end and most of the townsfolk slipped away to sleep in their own beds. Alex vanished for awhile to run a few of the drunker ones home in the snowcoach and swing past her place for a few essentials. After feeding the dogs, she was shocked when Jess of all people handed over a hastily wrapped gift. In it was a book, clearly read and reread and she startled at the name of the author.

"Lena, you wrote a book?"

"Oh Jess, that is so sweet that you gave her your copy, thank you so much. Yes, darling, that's what I was doing out here. I was on a book tour, coming from Yakima. Lex and I used to make stories up and when I started recollecting them for Ruby, I was shocked how much I remembered. So, Sam and Jess and Ruby encouraged me to start writing them down and I spent a couple years fiddling at them until they read well and there's the end result, in your hands."

"I do like creative sorts," Alex flirted and the couple lost themselves in one another until the group wolf-whistled them into taking a seat.

"This turned out to be an amazing day," Lillian sighed, clearly exhausted.

"I quite agree," Cat added in. "And I'm ready to turn in myself."

"Wait!" Lena spoke up sharply into the rising tide of voices and they all subsided immediately. "Can I please say something to all of you?" she asked tentatively and the group immediately gave her their attention. "My experience the last few days has been amazing. From pissed off and bewildered spoiled city girl, all of you coaxed me through a lot of experiences that changed me for the better. I came to realize that, what's the use of being a princess of you're all alone? So, here I am, at the loveliest Christmas I can imagine, having gotten involved for the first time I can remember, taking a chance at love and it's the happiest I've been since I was a tiny child getting her own family at last. Thank you, all of you."

Part of Alex and Lena wanted to stay close, but more than that, they wanted to be where it all began. So they piled the dogs and Lena into the snowcoach and headed downhill in the darkness to the hulking shape of the shop and diner. In a loaded quiet, they tended their four-footed companions and settled them with pets and kisses. Since Pepper had come home with them, the women decided Bear could come into the apartment as he was so well behaved.

Washing up and stripping and climbing into the bed in the glow of the old pellet stove and the tiny white lights strung from the ceiling of the bed box, the lovers melted together. The fine, fragile thing between them felt more solid somehow, strengthened by their busy day with their loved ones.

"Merry Christmas, Alex," Lena whispered and tugged her lover down for slow kisses.

"Merry Christmas, Lena," Alex whispered back and tugged the covers up over them more securely so that they could shut out the world around them.

Somewhere, the spirits of those they loved watched over them and the miracle dog who had helped bring them together into something bold and beautiful and hopeful.

THE END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back before I signed up for this exchange, Geekystorytelling was the most enthusiastic about this particular idea. So, I had to play stupid and tell her I just couldn't make it work and then STOP TALKING ABOUT IT, which was a unique hell, because I'm a damn chatterbox about my ideas. (You're totally shocked, right?) But it worked out, and she was indeed surprised and that makes me SO happy!
> 
> And a couple IMs, just for posterity.
> 
> shatterpath: so the jarring contrast of her normal life makes her feel VERY conflicted and out of place. who really wants to be a princess if you're alone?  
> dressed in her lover's clothes and hanging Christmas lights was the happiest she's been since a tiny child and getting her own family at last  
> geekystorytelling: oh my god, you brought it back to her childhood adoption? you are evil, and a genius. that's so touching fuck
> 
> Shatterpath: This chaotic mess of a reunion on Christmas. I love it  
> theillogicalthinker: MESSY. I love  
> Shatterpath: it's EXACTLY the sort of ending I wanted


	5. 12/26/17, A New Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops! This took awhile! Rather than drag out this chapter through possibly more shenanigans on this same day, I like where it breaks off and I'm putting it out there. I'll get on Kara's missing trip to Seattle and the loose bits created for this scenario.

Alex had no complaints about being kept abed long past her usual painfully early hour. Particularly with the lazy, warm kisses teased across her nape and shoulders that finally woke her.

Yesterday had not been a dream. Somehow it all felt surreal to Alex and the warm softness of her lover was grounding. Snuggling even closer, Lena chuckled throatily and Alex relished the jolt of arousal and affection it gave her.

"I know you're awake."

"Nuh uh."

A little bite at a shoulder muscle brought Alex to exploding life, Lena laughing uproariously and making no attempt to escape being pounced on. Kissing and giggling, they were happy to while away more of their morning in soft touches and moans, hearts in time.

Bear was patient with them, but when they quieted, he did whine pitifully. Leaving off luxuriously stroking Lena's silky skin, Alex grinned at the newest member of the pack. "Hungry, Buster Bear? Give us a sec and I'll take care of that."

"Nuh uh," Lena echoed the childish protest from earlier, pressing kisses to Alex's skin. "Can't we just stay here forever?"

That got her a hug that made her squeak under the pressure of strong arms.

"Sure, but can you resist those puppy eyes? Besides, I bet you gotta pee."

"Ugh, now that you've mentioned it…"

After a side trip to feed the girls, Alex brought Bear a bowl of kibble and joined her lover in the shower. The half-realized wish to be ambushed came true, leaving her clinging to the hearthstones in a sexy daze and a very smug Lena soaping her down.

Still gloriously naked, Lena perused the riot of clothes hanging from their pegs all over Alex's walls. Really, she was too chesty to go braless, but couldn't bring herself to give a damn about it today. A couple layers of snug tanktops would do. Finding those led her to a couple pegs of butter-soft flannel shirts that might have made her balk before meeting her country mouse. Now she just found a cheerfully red one and buried her face in it. She was so euphoric from the last couple of days that had trouble not squealing like an excited teenager into the clearly well-loved fabric.

"If I provided you with a closet and hangers, would you use them?"

The unexpected question made Alex laugh where she was buttoning up a warm layer of insulated workpants. "Are you going to civilize me, Lena Luthor?"

The comment was playful, but the matter was actually serious. Still only half-dressed, Lena flew over to hug her, hard. "No, I think you're wonderful just like you are. But, this place is far too small for two."

"This is very true. Any suggestions?"

"Funny you should ask. Cat is going to sell me her place."

Alex stilled, her arms wrapped around Lena. "Wait, what?"

"The offer shocked me too. But she says it's too much house for her and I kinda like the idea of being one of the social hubs here. Did I just make things weird?"

For a moment, Alex could only marvel at this strange creature who had dropped into her life with all the subtlety of, well, a fallen tree. Then she started laughing. Lena wasn't quite sure how to interpret the laughter, but she did soak up the long, sweet kiss.

"I think it's a little late for things to be weird, love. So, I knew you liked the palace, but damn! And yes, a closet will be welcome. I'm ready for a change."

Relieved, Lena snuggled in and just breathed for long moments.

"Me too."

When finally dressed and braced for the frigid temps outside, the couple tended to the dogs, getting Sif and Bear covered up and all three dogs in sturdy booties.

"This is the sort of day that will take your skin off if you're not careful," Alex said cheerfully and shooed her pack out to Sweetie. "Do you want to make the run up and down the road with me? Or I can drop you off."

"Normally, I would love to go with you, but I better go see how my family and friends are doing."

"Done! Everybody pack in!"

Comically squashed into the cab, the five made it work, but only just. Bear huddled against Lena's knees to avoid the long stick shift and Pepper was happy to perch in her lap and watch the world go by. Sif looked adorably smug as she once more got to sit regally between the two humans.

The day was bright and crisp with a cold that cut into Sweetie's cab like prickly little stingers.

"I hope I never get used to how beautiful it is here," Lena breathed dreamily and Alex fell in love with her a little bit more. She was as much a part of this place as she was her own person. It was important that was understood, and Lena seemed to.

As Sweetie easily took the winding path up to Cat's house, Alex grinned at the slightly discordant humming that Pepper instinctually whined along to. 

"Pep's a singer, beware. Though it's pretty cute."

"Are you, pretty girl?"

When Lena broke into 'Jingle Bells', Pepper obliged by howling along until the women laughed. As they approached their destination, Lena paid closer attention, more invested now in the property. As the road came out of its final twist up onto the ridge, there were a pair of large buildings, both more basic in their rustic architecture as compared to the intricate house. The smaller one had a split roof indicating a much taller space within, reinforced by the vastly tall door on its face. The regular garage doors on the smaller half looked almost demure beside it. Lena realized it was an RV garage, and she felt an excited jolt. That could be fun in nicer weather!

The larger structure sported a lot of stacked stone cladding, plenty of windows and three chimneys. It must be the fancier pool, but there was nothing remarkable about its shape. There was no denying she was enormously curious! It would certainly be a chilly walk. The thought made Lena huff lightly in amusement, but looking up the slope of the ridge, she wondered how exactly one was supposed to get to these lower buildings. There was no indication of stair railings and that rocky upthrust near the back of the house would make a heck of an obstacle. A mystery to ask after then.

Hanging a sharp right at the RV barn, Alex guided the big truck over a barely discernable road, dropping the plow to clear her way. They twined around the high rocky point and the lumpy terrain around it to find themselves at the back of the big house. One more small building went by, nearly lost in the deep snow, but a path had been carved leading to it.

"The stables?" she asked half to herself and Alex chuckled as she popped the heavy-duty parking brake with a hiss of air through the frame.

"Yeah, that little barn would probably work just fine for stables, but the dogs have taken it over. In fact, if you wouldn't mind running the girls over there? I'll check in on them when I get back. Bear did fine yesterday in the house and you can run him out if Cat wants you to."

"Sure thing. Be safe?"

It was a sweet sentiment and Alex's smile was sappy. Sif grumbled but lay down so the silly humans could lean over her and share kisses until Pepper couldn't stand the anticipation and her wriggling escaped in a little bark.

"I will put a one hundred percent effort to be safe, yes."

Smiling adoringly, Lena opened the door and let Pepper free, clambering after her to be followed by the larger dogs. Alex watched in her rearview mirror as the quartet moved away, almost tasting Lena's laughter on her lips.

The banks of pristine white snow taller than she was tall, with the sky a hard blue ceiling above, led Lena to a low barn. Behind double doors was an office-like space that reminded Lena of Alex's dog room at the shop. A wash-up area for people and dogs alike, with cubbies and pegs for hanging things on.

Not sure if she should leave the dogs dressed, Lena decided that safe was better than sorry. Not that she was going to be able to get to Pepper's feet anyway, the spaniel hyperactively pawing at the only other door in the room, just about body slamming it. The half-stifled barks were getting annoying and Lena figured she better do her best to take control here.

"Pepper!" The whip crack of command in the name subsided the freckly spaniel, albeit reluctantly. "Sit."

Again, she obeyed, vibrating with the want to go, tail lashing wildly. Lena supposed that was good enough and opened the door to let the dogs charge through. The rest of the barn was mostly open, a play space with bristly fake grass and things to climb on and chainlink kennels for separation.

With a snort of wakefulness, Jeremiah roused where he'd been clearly napping in a lounge chair. The mostly black german shepherd Lena remembered from her first visit was stiffly getting to his feet at Pepper's insistence. Awkwardly getting off of Jeremiah's outstretched legs, he padded over to Lena to give her a sniff and she stroked his head, before he wandered off to join the others.

"Good morning," Jeremiah greeted his fellow human while the dogs rumpused about the space. In the blur that her life had been for the last few days, Lena hadn't done more than meet the man in passing and she was instantly shy. She managed to return the pleasant greeting, but froze up on saying anything more to Alex's smiling father.

"I need to stay out here with Tony, so you can head in if you like. The old boy doesn't do so well unsupervised any longer."

"Oh, he's your dog? I met him my first morning here, he was very helpful. Is Tony another of the superhero names? It sort of rings a bell, but I can't place him."

Apparently she was turning into one of those pet people, who could talk about them no matter the circumstances. Jeremiah just smiled more warmly.

"He is. Alex was still in her teens when I got this fellow and a golden retriever with paws the size of grizzly bear. We lost Steve a couple years ago and Tony's been really clingy ever since."

It clicked then and Lena's grin was pure childish delight. "Captain America and Iron Man! I remember now. She wants to call the big guy, Bruce."

Since Bear out massed the other four dogs by half again, the name made a certain sense. It coaxed an easy laugh out of Jeremiah and put Lena more at ease. He had clearly passed on the easy charm to his daughter and she recognized it.

"A solid name and goes well with Bear."

Hearing his name, Bear left off sniffing the piled tangle of concrete storm drain and a trio of tree trunks that made for a great jungle gym to race over to the humans. Lena was happy to pet his face and ears before sending him back to play.

"Thank you for offering to watch them," she said to Jeremiah, whose smile gentled.

"My pleasure. I'll join the rest of you in a bit. They'll be all right in here by themselves once they run off some energy."

Already visualizing improvements to the space, Lena headed back the way she'd come. She trusted Jeremiah's judgment and the barn was chilly, but not cold, with warm piles of pillows and blankets in corners for napping. 

\----

Pleasantly chilled and worn out from her morning, Alex stomped off the worst of the snow and clomped off to the mudroom to strip off her warm layers.

The sound of feminine laughter almost pulled her off course. She was pretty sure that was her mother and sister mixed with the new girl in her life. Something about the merriment promised embarrassment.

Still, no matter how quickly she made herself presentable, only Lena remained once she rushed into the kitchen. Lena, who looked so blasé and innocent that Alex didn't buy it for one damn second.

The scent of coffee was a distraction and Alex busied herself with a long-overdue cup. But after a couple minutes, she found herself in a staring contest with her girlfriend. Who looked smug as a damn cat under that sweet, innocent expression.

Lena broke first, spluttering out a delighted laugh and nearly sending coffee down her shirt. "Oh, you're good, baby! That flat stare must wreak havoc on Kara's nerves."

Pleased at having won the little contest, Alex skirted around the kitchen island and set both of their mugs aside so that she could snuggle up. With her butt secure on a stool and the countertop at her back, Lena was more than willing to twine her limbs around her lover and flirt outrageously.

"You can use that smart mouth on me anytime."

She didn't buy that wry look for an instant, kittenishly kissing and nuzzling at Alex's whole lower face. Pretending to be unaffected lasted only a few kisses before Alex sank into her. "Just a few hours of my usual routine and I missed you so much."

Delighted with the low confession, Lena squeezed harder, breathed in the clean, fresh scents of her lover. "Once I get settled in, I'll use my mornings for creative outlets. That way I can still be a productive member of society in my own way. We can find things to do together with a little exploring."

They both snerked at the implication of that and fell into welcome kisses.

"You mother and sister were entertaining me with stories of you. Especially your sister. I like her."

Alex's expression was wry and adoring. "You only met her yesterday and you've spent too much time with Kara."

"She was having great fun telling me about your teenage years."

As Lena's hopeful teasing was angling for, Alex leaned back in their embrace and flapped her arms wildly, smile wide. "That little sneak! I'm literally the reason we found her so she didn't die!"

"She promised to show me the photo of your first cuddle as babies she keeps in her room."

"She should. I had a pair printed and framed for the two of us."

"You literally wrote on the back, 'for my baby sister who means the world to me and my best friend'."

"That little shit," Alex sighed with no venom at all and Lena kissed her again.

"You love her. You bought her pink work boots and safety gear so she wouldn't injure herself in your shop."

"She's such a klutz, her and her damn cat. I can't believe she made the cat a matching fluorescent pink safety vest."

The ranting really was adorable and Lena snuggled in. "Oh, I can."

"I swear she spends more on clothes for the pets than herself. I had to buy her a bunch of flannels so she'd stop stealing mine."

That made Lena look down guiltily down at her stolen flannel shirt, but Alex waved off the reaction. 

"You're fine. You're my girlfriend. It's an unwritten rule to be allowed to steal your significant other's clothes. Oh, speak of devil, good morning, Elphie."

With a 'purrup' of sound, the little black cat hopped up to the stool beside them. Today's article of clothing was a flannel sweatshirt in a psychedelic swirl of colors and blue sleeves. She rubbed up against Alex's hand on her ears and sniffed over Lena's fingertips before doing the same.

"Your mom also may or may not have given me a baby photo of you," Lena continued on with their conversation, As expected after the stories, Alex blanched and Lena choked down her laughter with real effort. "Baby you in her overalls and flannel with matching hat was very adorable."

Nearly limp with relief, Alex dropped her head to Lena's shoulder. "Oh thank god it was that one. There's this one shot I keep trying to burn--"

"Yes, I saw the teddy bear suit," Lena deadpanned and burst into laughter at Alex's mutter.

"Dammit…"

Meeting the cat was nice, but Lena preferred stroking the dark red hair of her lover.

"Kara tried to give me a copy of the entire baby album."

"I'm gonna start leaving frogs in her bed again."

"Your mother has many duplicates."

"They're conspiring against me."

"It's cute."

"We'll see how much Kara likes it when I scare her next partner." As though conjured up by the mock dire warning, there was a clatter of feet and voices and Ruby raced in with Kara hot on her tail.

"Alex, I love you, but under the right circumstances, you can be a nightmare," Kara sassed her sibling as she made a beeline for the coffee pot.

With an unapologetic shrug, Alex stole Lena's mug and drained it, making a face at it. "Not my fault the dudes you go for are the weeny artist sorts with shitty-- err, sorry Ruby-- lousy nerves."

"Alex, you almost felled a tree on him!"

There was a distinctively evil edge to Alex's huff of a laugh and both Ruby and Lena giggled along. "Yeah, good times."

"Ugh," Kara growled with exasperation and stormed off with her coffee.

"You're just mad because I was right about him," Alex called after her.

"Shut up!"

"You're more like a big brother than a big sister," Ruby said shyly and Alex just grinned wider.

"I'm the best and worst of both. Hey, you wouldn't happen to have packed a swimsuit or something lightweight, did you?"

Ruby nodded, her eyes interested.

"Fantastic! Where's your mom at? I have a couple questions for her."

Like a shot, the child was gone, hollering for her parent.

"What are you up to? Are we going to see the pool?" Lena was clearly as excited as Ruby by the prospect.

"Absolutely. Most of the town just leave swimsuits here, because where else are we going to use them? We'll find you something to wear."

Gradually, everyone started gathering around the kitchen and great room, chattering and full of life. It felt like bliss to Lena, her past and present and hopefully future all mixed up together. 

"There she is!" Cat's voice rang out and she materialized from the small crowd wielding a couple of large-ish shopping bags. "My multi-talented sidekick!"

"This doesn't bode well," Alex stage-whispered to a giggling Lena, smirk firmly in place. Cat gave her a droll look that spoke volumes.

"Since you wear so many hats for the town. I got you a proper one. It really isn't a Christmas gift, so I waited. Open it."

Inside the first one Alex randomly grabbed was a box marked 'Stetson' and contained a dark brown cowboy hat. Her questioning look to Cat earned fond exasperation. 

"It figures you opened that one first. That's your play hat, perfect for the adolescent way you will probably treat it." There were snickers all around and Alex looked torn between sassy and sheepish. "Try the other one for your big girl hat."

To renewed giggling, Alex went for the second bag, curious now, and pulled out a larger, sturdier hat box. Inside was another brown hat, paler than the first and made of a heavy, stiff felt. "It's got some heft," Alex commented as she lifted it from the box to flip it over. "Looks just like my dad's."

"Funny you should mention that. Look more closely."

Scattered evenly around the hat band were little pins, the largest of which was the town seal seated squarely front and center. "Did you put all my jobs on this? In pin form?"

"I did. And if you look closely, you'll see the reinforced spots for a sheriff's badge down the line. Because no one in this town is going to trust anyone else to do the job."

Alex laughed as the pin on the back of the hat turned out to be her hot pink DEO moniker. Delighted, she set it on her head and swept Cat into a big hug. "Thanks boss!"

"There are rules that go with that thing, mind you, but it can wait until we get back to work. I think your girl there needs to finish the tour, hmm? I've already put you both in the system for my sanctum sanctorum. We'll meet you downhill in a bit. Everyone else? Prepare to be astonished!"

While the gang moved out in a noisy babble, Alex returned to her cuddling with Lena, who ran a teasing fingertip over the brim of the new hat. "So sheriff, huh?"

"Eventually. My dad took the job when he was about my age, and I'm sure I'll be doing it for a couple decades at least. Not much call for police work in a tiny town, but it does come into play sometimes."

"Do you get a uniform?"

"Why, Miss Luthor, are you flirting with me?"

"Shamelessly."

Eventually, they broke off the enthusiastic making out, flushed and giddy with one another. Taking Lena's hand, Alex led the way, practically skipping with delight. "Come on, come on. Let's go see the rest of the house!"

Through the strangely demure lone door that led to the main hallway, they headed back towards the mudroom and the back of the house, but Alex paused at one of the unremarkable doors there. 

"Here, check it out. I remember when this thing came in on a truck and looked like something from a Start Trek movie. Wanna try it?"

'It' was a crystal clear polycarbonate tube that ran through floor and ceiling both, the structure reinforced with an aluminum frame. Alex pressing a button on the thing activated a muffled whine that sounded just like a cheap hairdryer. 

"What is it?" Lena asked even as a black plug rose smoothly from below, revealed to be a capsule moving in the tube. "Oh! It's an elevator!"

"It's a pneumatic vacuum that moves it. Cool right?"

The capsule settled to floor level and there were a few long beats before a click and the button darkening alerted Alex to open the curved door and bow dramatically. 

"Your chariot madam."

"You could cram five people in here."

"Easy. This is the wheelchair accessible version, because Cat's right, who knows what might be needed in the future?"

With only a bit of lurch, the capsule hissed almost soundlessly back through the floor and into a plain little antechamber with a wall that curved out of sight. As they exited and followed that wall, it narrowed down an entry area to a long, sloping tunnel that eventually bent out of sight.

"There's a tunnel," Lena said in disbelief and Alex just swallowed a grin. "There's a tunnel down to the pool?"

"Wild, right? Still, it makes the pool useable every day of the year, so there's that."

"Unreal. I come from a billionaire family, and that's unreal."

Chuckling, Alex herded Lena over to one of several unremarkable doors near where the elevator and nearby stairs dumped into the tunnel entrance. "So, those other doors are the wine rooms, I believe, but we're taking a little side trip here first."

The simple black glass panel beside the door closest to the house lit up as they approached, revealing a hidden camera lens watching them. After a moment, the frame flashed green and the door clicked, signaling Alex to push it open.

"Facial recognition. Nice."

The hallway was elegant but unremarkable until Lena glanced to her left and was caught up by what was clearly a large space beyond a heavy glass and wood door. Pushing into it made her gawk in delight.

In a large, low room done in squared off, rustic timbers and slate tile deck, was a pool. It was very long and narrow with a hot tub set on the deck on the far end. Three large columns were half in the water and half in the deck, supporting the structure above. At the narrow ends of the pool were stacked stone walls and the long wall was completely mirrored to give the illusion of more space.

"I remember Cat being very pleased that this one is Olympic sized. I'm guessing this is strictly for exercise. Ooo! A weight set. Cool."

Lena barely glanced at the plate glass wall behind her where an elaborate weight set rested. She was too fascinated by the lap pool. Crouching down to run her hand through the sparkling blue water revealed a pleasantly cool workout temperature.

"Well this will certainly get some use! Do you like to swim, Alex?"

"I suppose, well enough. There's little call for it recreationally in a town this small with this hard of weather. Though I guess I'll have access to this?"

It was more question that statement, and Lena jumped up to wrap her up in a hug that nearly sent both of them into the pool. "Of course you're welcome. You were my first and most important home here. This? This is just a fancy structure."

The look on Alex's face was a beauty Lena would never forget.

Eventually, they made their way down the tunnel with its concrete surfaces covered in interesting textures. A raw cork floor for cushioning and some sound absorption, a padded cloth ceiling and walls of horizontal bars of the raw concrete painted a soothing pale yellow interspersed with aged wooden lathe. It made for a pleasant walk and nearly eliminated echoes. 

The walk started out flat where it passed beneath the garage, then swooped off to the right, loosely following the driveway and softening the angle for walking. Then it flattened out beneath the lower part of the circular driveway and angled up to a heavy door that dumped them into a hallway.

"Would you like to peek into the RV garage?" Alex asked and they turned right to pass through another door that whirred and clicked open at their approach. Lights were flickering on as they stepped into the chilly space, only warmed enough to not be frigid. There were several cars there and the usual detritus of life that collected in such spaces. 

"Wow," Lena marveled as she stepped out onto the concrete to peer up at the high ceiling of the empty RV side. "There's hookups and everything here. Maybe we can travel a bit someday."

Alex's little smile was indulgent. "You just might persuade me to do that."

On the other side of the tunnel entrance was an elegant backstage area with a variety of cubbies and lockers and several doors that hinted at bathrooms or dressing rooms. Alex dug through a drawer and came up with a pair of baggy shorts and a bikini top that would be a little skimpy with Lena's cleavage, but she'd work with it.

Once changed, the graduated red suit Alex wore had Lena wanting to touch, but the noises from beyond the sets of double doors were intriguing enough distraction.

After the grand, outrageous lodge atop its lofty ridge, Lena had expected something over the top. What greeted her was awe-inspiring. Beneath a soaring roof ringed in windows lay a grotto-like pool ringed in layers of stone from neat tiles with a natural surface to a boulder large enough to slow dance on.

She distractedly noticed that half the party was clustered around a bar to her right and spoke somewhat faintly.

"When you said your default was big and shiny, I underestimated the scope of that."

The little group's chuckling was gentle, Cat's rich laugh rising above them. "You look a little shell-shocked, yes. Mimosa?"

"Oh yes, please."

With a splash of good champagne and freshly-squeezed orange juice in her belly, Lena could take in her surroundings with more dispassionate eyes. Alex cuddled up against the back of her high barstool helped too.

"Would you like to promenade with me, pretty lady?"

The throaty flirting made Lena giggle and the warm kiss on her neck made her want to do other things.

"That sounds lovely."

Down some steps beside one of the many built-in planters took them to the meandering stone walkway around the pool. Carter and Kara were engaged in a noisy splash fight while Jess laughed and egged them on. The pool itself was a fun amoeba shape with no rhyme or reason with a waterfall splashing down from the highest point of the built up side across from where they were now walking. Vast windows let in tons of light and looked west over the mountains.

At the far side of the pool, more stairs led up to a set of double doors flanked by windows, two more steps to their left led to the same configuration, indicating rooms beyond.

"There's a couple bedrooms back there. Pretty fancy guest house, huh? The windows on that tall east side? There's a couple fireplaces in there with lounge or living rooms around them, and a full kitchen in the middle. The whole town is here a lot."

"It sounds like fun."

More steps led up to the highest deck that ran alongside the windowed wall that left the social areas overlooking the magnificent pool. A set of table and chairs almost enticed Lena to collapse, but then she noticed the hot tub that provided the waterfall and beside it…

"Is that a slide?"

That enticing, mischievous smile of Alex's could probably entice her into anything. 

"It is. Come on, it's fun."

After a quick kiss, Alex scampered past the hot tub and posed dramatically at the top of the slide at the cheering and catcalling that was mostly her sister and Cat. Then she grabbed the handles and tossed her weight down the slide to splash into the pool below.

Well, Lena wouldn't be upstaged and followed suit, whipping down the half-moon curve of fiberglass and into the pleasantly cool water.

Play had not been a part of Lena's life for a long time. Play was something a person grew out of, grew beyond. As she goofed off with the others, Lena realized that play was something that could bring joy no matter her age. 

A light heart made it easy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget that there are a lot more photos! I opened a sideblog just to corral them, so you may certainly go peek if you're curious. https://www.tumblr.com/blog/shatterpics


	6. A Side Journey With Kara

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, in figuring out what had been going on with Kara before she returned with the Luthor party, I realized that I had most of a whole tale. So, here ya go! All polished up and pretty.
> 
> I'm still working on an epilogue to wrap up some fun bits and pieces of this universe, so stay tuned!

It had started by random chance. 

Kara had dropped by Oyster Blue, the trendiest sushi bar in Seattle, to look over her art installation there. She hadn't really wanted the gig, the place was anything but her speed and style, but some friends had scored her the meet and greet with the owner and Alex had bullied her with threats to get her ass out there and be seen, dammit!

So, she let herself be undersold, the money would cover the expenses and put a little bit in her pocket, and contented herself that getting seen would be more important. Still, it rankled a bit to be treated like her work were some off the rack thing. Even if she was still in college. It was one of the finest art schools in the country!

A narrow, ten foot length of red cedar became her canvas. Alex did her magic and sliced the chunk of tree down the middle, finding a color palette of creams and reds. They stripped the bark, smoothed the edges, sanded everything until it was all as smooth as tender skin. Then, Kara painted. The name of the bar both mixed with and stood out with the colors of water and sky that lay so close. All in all, she liked the end result, the flowing shapes pleasing to the eye.

Heavy black eyebolts were sunk deep into the wood and layers of crystal clear resin to preserve her hard work. Then the overnight installation while the place lay quiet and empty around them.

That first night, the crowd had admired the work where it hung just above the sushi chef's heads. Both Kara and the owner of the restaurant were pleased with the attention. Several smaller pieces had come from that, including Kara's being offered a slot at the Seattle Art Museum featuring local artists. So, Alex had been right all along and was still playfully smug about it, two years later.

Ordering lunch beneath the sign made from her own two hands-- with Alex's help of course-- Kara set to work on her little dish of soup and some nibblies. Halfway through her tempura and a fiercely hot and sweet pad thai, a dramatic exclamation behind her half caught her attention.

"You say that's a local artist? I must have them! Alexander, this artist must do the centerpiece for the hotel! Something like that piece, only at a grander scale, can you imagine it?"

"It would look wonderful, mother. I'll be sure to get the contact information from Greg before we go."

Kara had whipped around halfway through the woman's talking and eyed the pair of strangers. The man was tall and handsome, perhaps early, mid thirties with close-cropped dark hair and the sort of intense bearing that made you not want to cross him. The woman holding his arm was nearly as tall, slender and elegant with a relaxed yet deadly alertness that made her son seem like a puppy by comparison. Both were fashionable in the effortless-seeming way that screamed old money.

By complete coincidence, Greg himself hustled up, looking pleased and a little flustered. From what Kara remembered, he wasn't here a lot, so she was startled into closing her mouth and watch the scene play out. Just as she had done moments ago, the rich lady insisted that she needed the artist who did the piece over Kara's head. The son caught her watching, his smile somehow caught between wariness and flirting. Then Greg noticed her sitting there and the flummoxed look on his face was truly priceless.

"Kara…?"

Trying not to smirk, Kara stood up, a small part of her mourning her unfinished lunch going to waste on the counter. Tempura was awful once cooled off. Approaching, she placed herself at Greg's elbow with a smile.

"Yes, it's me, Greg. How have you been?"

"Uh, fine. Umm, this is a really strange coincidence, but Mrs. Luthor, this is the artist that made the piece you're admiring. Kara Danvers."

"A pleasure," Kara said politely and offered a hand. Whoever this Mrs. Luthor was, she had a handshake like a linebacker. Kara could appreciate that.

"Likewise. It's a beautiful piece. Do you do commissions? Perhaps even on a larger scale? Our hotel desperately needs some scale. Marvelous place, historical, charming, fantastic location, but the proportions of the lobby are awful. Oh, I'm sorry, we've kept you from your lunch."

The sunny grin that warmed Kara's face was unconsciously echoed in the Luthor's faces. It was almost a superpower she had. "Given the circumstances, Mrs. Luthor, I'm willing to forgive a cold lunch."

Chuckling, something in the rich lady unlocked then, relaxed around the edges. "Lillian, please. This is my son, Lex. Would you care to join us? We can easily provide a hot lunch."

Well, the easiest way to quickly endear yourself to Kara was her stomach and her smile deepened. "I'd be delighted. And we can both consider it a business expense."

Lillian actually laughed at that one.

At an outstanding table overlooking picturesque downtown and the waters of Puget Sound beyond, the trio settled in to order lunch and get down to business.

"So, tell me about your hotel," Kara forced herself to not sound giddy with excitement over the possibilities of this chance meeting. 

"It's the old Slatewater, just this side of lower Queen Anne. We picked it up in merger and I've decided to make it a personal project. I just cannot stand the way the lobby opens up. The drama is all wrong."

Tapping at his fancy smartphone, Lex held it out to Kara. It showed a picture of a low, wide entryway and an overlarge space beyond. It appalled Kara's artist eye and that must have reflected on her face by the way Lex quirked a grin.

"Oof, I see what you mean."

"If you swipe to the next photo, you'll see just how oddly dramatic the space really is," Lex added, making a quick wiping gesture with his index finger. 

"Oh, right, sorry. I don't own a celphone simply because there's no service where I live. There we go. Wow, that is some ceiling."

Her brain was already whirling with ideas, pinching her brows together. Handing the phone back, Kara grabbed the large hip bag she always carried with her, because she never knew when inspiration would strike. She was particularly thankful for the habit today, as she dug around while speaking. 

"Y'know, I might have the perfect thing for you. At my shop, there's a slab of wood that would actually fit the scale of your odd lobby. It's about fifteen by five and a half feet or so and the whole back side has literally never been touched, so there's probably still dirt jammed in the bark from being dragged out of the forest. Oh, and it's yellow cedar, which is rare, and the color is a nice, creamy shade with tight grain. Really, it's an exquisite piece of natural art."

Pulling out her electronic tablet, Kara was relieved to see that it still had a charge, tapping at it to search for the picture she was looking for.

"Alex-- she's my older sister-- told me all about how she found this tree fallen after a storm. Shame too, because it was healthy and an enormous old tree, but it happens. So she stumbled over it while tending to our local patch of forest and got right to getting it broken down and dragged out. Though she had to jury-rig getting the base of the trunk split down the middle just because of the size and weight of it. So she started cutting slabs but, oddly, stopped partway through and just set that piece aside. Told me later that the grain was just so pretty that she couldn't bear to cut it. She's sensitive that way. So, it's been drying for---what, that must have been my second, third year at Cal Arts?-- some five years and never split or anything. Ah, here it is!"

Finding the picture she was looking for, Kara handed over the tablet and the Luthors admired it. The raw slab of tree truck was nearly as wide as Kara was tall, as she had stood next to the brute for comparison.

"Honestly, the picture doesn't do the grain of the wood justice. It's easily one of the prettiest pieces of wood I've ever laid hands on."

"It's perfect," Lillian breathed and her little smile was both sly and empathetic. "You've been wanting to do something with this for a long time, no? I can see your excitement."

"I really have. It's just the scale of the thing is not easily accommodated. Oh, and once cleaned up and locked into a frame-- which I will provide as my sister is very talented that way-- it can be set up on wheels and moved around."

"Excellent. Do you think you might give us something with some local flair? We'd very much like to stick to the flavor of this city and the surroundings."

"Of course! That would be my preference as well. Are you thinking of any color or technique or landscapes?"

Lillian waved that question off. "Oh, you’re the artist, you do what you think is best. If you think it will help, we can have the designer send over the color scheme of the lobby for inspiration?"

"That's a fantastic idea!"

"Excellent, consider it done. Now, we haven't negotiated price or delivery. Firstly, do you think we night have it installed by Christmas? We're pushing to be open by December 27th so that we can throw a bash and get the place filled up for New Year's. We have such a lovely view of the Space Needle."

Kara turned her attention inward, mentally looked at the enormous slab of wood and plotted out the timeframe of getting it complete in well under a year. Getting the bark off or at least cleaned up and sealed, then the flat face prepped for paint, that was several weeks alone. Then a frame to match the look and feel of the natural side of the wood and provide stabilization to its mass and weight, not to mention the painting itself. Buckets of paint that would take weeks, maybe even a month and a half to all get to her. Yikes.

"It won't be easy," Kara hedged, torn between her eagerness and the reality of what she would be facing. "Prep and supplies will take some time before I can even get to the actual art."

"Would a hundred grand be worth your while?"

Kara's brain shut down.

"Wh… what?"

Her incredulous little laugh made Lillian Luthor chuckle and her voice was wryly amused. "You're a tough negotiator, Kara Danvers. One twenty five. I want that piece."

Yes, there was a note of amusement in the rich lady's voice, but she was completely serious as well. Somewhat desperately, Kara stalled for a moment to let the blue screen of death that was her brain reboot. "Give me just a sec, I'm running through my mental list of who might be able to help with the prep work this time of year. I do have a few possibilities, and with the increased offer, I should be able to hire myself a bit of help."

She was never going to get an offer like this again, Kara just knew it. So she threw caution to the wind and set her jaw with determination.

"You have a deal, Lillian. I'll need half up front for supplies and help, with the full understanding that should I default, it's my responsibility to reimburse that money."

"Very good. I'll have a contract to you by end of day. What are your contact details?"

"Honestly? Communication can be spotty in my little town, but the sheriff's office in Packwood is very reasonable about letting us use their fax system for important documents. You send me the signing pages and email the rest."

\----

So, yes, dammit, Alex had been right all along. And was probably going to be insufferably smug about it too. The piece she'd gotten up at that stupidly trendy place in Seattle had brought her a commission that still had Kara's heart racing.

Galloping up the stairs to the second floor where all the arting took place, she flipped the correct sequence of light switches with unconscious expertise. They never turned every light on, it was wasteful as hell. So with pools of electric light to lead the way, Kara wound her way deep into the neatly organized ranks of wood slabs and branches and odds and ends.

And there it was, a looming shape tucked in between two drying rigs, covered in dust and spiderwebs. Alex had told her the trouble she and Dad and Jon had in wrestling the brute into the attic drying racks above Alex's shop as the damn thing was as long as a large car, nearly as tall as Kara herself and almost as thick. Thankfully, it had remained on its wheeled dolly and Kara grunted a bit in gently negotiating the thing out enough to at least play her powerful flashlight over its surfaces.

There were no cracks and the intense color of the fresh heartwood had gentled to a creamy, soft yellow over the years. Lovingly, Kara ran her hand over the cut face, feeling the chainsaw milling tug at her calloused skin.

"How about you and me make some art, huh?"

So Kara nagged and cajoled Alex into doing her magic with the wood. As well as picking up a lot of her duties while she was occupied. The minute the money from the Luthors cleared, and she squealed and danced around and made both herself and Alex dizzy with her spinning, she purchased enough art supplies for an army.

Alex wore herself out for two weeks picking off most of the tree's bark and filing down any protrusions. There were deep growth crags here and there, and a gouge left where the behemoth has smashed across something in its death fall. Kara made an undignified squeaking noise when she caught Alex bashing away at the slab with a hammer and chisel. But Alex just smiled that smile and told her, "trust me."

The face was easier, being flat, and a few days with a circular sander and a few more with sandpaper and elbow grease had it silken smooth. It felt so good Kara wanted to strip naked and rub up against like a cat.

While Alex rested for a couple days, Daddy and Jon set up a forge for the last step of the process. Working outdoors during the tail end of March was madness, but the family knew that Kara was on a deadline and waiting for warmer weather wasn't possible.

On April Fool's Day-- Kara would swear Alex did that on purpose-- Susan took the day off and joined them. While slushy rain beat down on the flimsy tarp roof stretched over the slab, everyone but Kara tended to the forge. First came the initial bends that left the two bars in the shape of a squared off U. Then little elbow joints were welded into place on the bends to reinforce them. The slab was carefully measured and marked where the steel would be placed and the open ends of the U shoved into the forge.

They would only get one shot at this.

When the iron was not quite red hot, the gang stripped off their bulkiest layers, grabbed their clamps and tools, and it was go time. The dull orange iron hissed in displeasure as it was pulled from the forge, the bottom of the U shape pressed to the face of the wood slab and hammers beat the open arms to press into the contoured side. The wood smoked and crackled under the heat, charred black where the two materials touched, a corona of black and caramelized brown flaring away. Several hydraulic rams and strategically placed wooden beams and industrial strength straps clamped everything into place and a pump brought water up from the icy river to douse the heat. With insulation packed close to the open seam, Alex fired up her acetylene torch and welded the iron shut around the wood.

A quick breather and they did it again, the air stinking of hot metal and wood smoke.

The reinforced bends lay at the vulnerable edges where the flat and convex sides met and the burns crept a foot or so onto the face to fade away to nothing. The iron bar was now locked tight around the wood, leaving about a foot in on each end. The hardest part of the fancy scaffolding for the piece was done. 

With the forge still hot, Alex had done the basic shaping of an artistically contoured, sturdy frame. After a couple of days for the wood to dry in the warm shop, she began placing each piece of iron and welding it into place. 

And then… and then… 

And then Jon had died. 

Gone in his sleep, leaving behind the family that loved him utterly, and the community around them, devastated in the wake of the tragedy. None of the Danvers could squeeze out the barest of words though their tears for several days as the shock really sank in.

It felt like he was everywhere and nowhere, his rich voice in the familiar babble of the townsfolk, his laugh at the edges of their consciousnesses. Yet, there was nothing left of him but the things he left behind.

That first week was a blur of pain and rain and crying over Jon's things and huddling with the whole town around them as his casket was lowered into the soaked earth, there at the edge of the forest. The Danvers, always a very close-knit family, could barely look one another in the eye.

Kara broke first, the sight of the half-finished frame around the wooden slab she had been so excited to paint slamming home that it was the last thing Jon had worked on. He'd come down with a cold after the day of forging and never recovered. Alex found her there, bawling like an infant, huddled against the wood.

Kara loved her folks, but her closeness with Alex and Jon were special. From the moment the pair had found her, nearly lost to the mountain cold, and brought her into their family, they had formed their own little pack. And it was Alex who coaxed her away from the cold concrete and the lonely piece of fallen tree to curl up with her until they both cried themselves to sleep.

That next day, red-eyed and with a set jaw, Alex got back to work on the frame. With shaking hands, she welded and ground and painted and by the end of April, it was finished. It was a beautiful piece of art in itself, all curved lines and discrete attachment points. Every weld was ground and sanded as silky smooth as the wood, a chemical process darkening the steel to a faintly bluish tone. Alex had even gone the extra mile by collecting a bucket of gritty sand from the stream and using it with some epoxy to fill in the flaws on the back of the slab, and any small gaps where iron met wood. The contrast of the stones were artistic in their own right, no matter that Alex waved off her sister's admiration.

Kara did her best to bend Alex's bones with a thankful hug almost awkward in its length. Alex just squeezed her back.

Then the slab was hoisted back to the second floor and wheeled into the studio where the shades of sunlight could play over its pristine surface.

But inspiration would not come.

Kara painted landscapes and whimsy-- whatever came to her head-- on the cut sides of trees, leaving natural art on the live edge side and her paint on the other. Oftentimes, she would work on slices through a tree because they sold better, but there was something special about working along the grain of the wood. It was as though she experienced the thrill of growth trapped in the patterns, how water and nutrients had once flowed though the thin cambium layer that was eventually replaced with a fresh layer, another ring for another year of life.

For nearly a week she stared at the beautiful wood and just felt… empty.

Then she snapped, grabbed tubes of paint and brutally smeared color over the surface, rage left behind by her shaking hands. When the rage passed, there were garbled strokes of the primary colors left behind, mixed together at the edges, like a toddler gone wild. Rather than see it as a mistake, Kara swallowed hard against her pain and let it be a beginning instead.

And, with that, she allowed herself the freedom to make the beautiful piece of yellow cedar her masterpiece. 

The four classic elements became the theme of the painting. Realistic landscapes of air, earth, fire and water, blended together with the shapes of native animals, the colors of the wilderness and sky and snow. 

With a packing blanket protecting the upper edge and weighed down by a handful of sandbags, Elphie hung out atop the piece, watching her human work. When she playfully swiped at the paintbrush coming near, Kara just incorporated the error. Once, she even left a very clear paw print where it lay. 

Spring became summer and the warmer light in the windows thrown open to the glorious warmer days. Summer faded to fall and the watery sunshine and falling temperatures. Alex corralled her a couple times a day to eat and stretch out her cramped body, even take a few hours off to go for a joyride or a little hike. If frustration set in, Kara set aside her paint and worked out until she had sweat it out of her system, ready to sleep or go back to work.

As fall crept ever closer to winter, she pushed hard, poured herself onto the silky smooth wood until at last, she was done. Well, the painting was done anyway. Then came the next phase of 'you only get one shot at this'.

With practice, Alex had grown adept at sealing Kara's work behind layers of crystal clear resin that didn't damage the paint. They had a few older pieces from more than ten years ago that still remained clear, so Kara let her keep doing it. First came laying the massive piece on its face, resting on the iron brackets to save the painting. The curved side was sealed first, as well as the iron where it lay close. Alex carefully brushed away the drippy edges and repeated the whole cycle several times over several days.

Then they had to flip the piece.

Missing Jon had become achingly familiar and sharpened at odd moments like that one, when his physical strength and gruff good humor would have been so welcome. Jeremiah and some of the locals rallied to help, the event turning into an impromptu get together while the first layer across the face of the painting was left to dry.

On the night before Winter Solstice, the sealing was complete and Kara put the final touches on the piece. While it dried, she got a well-earned night's sleep and then spent her solstice carefully sealing the whole thing up, strapping it to the trailer awaiting it and getting her personal effects together.

She couldn't have been any more pleased with her project if she'd wished for a Christmas miracle.

When the longest night of the year fully closed in, the sisters bundled up against the cold, grabbed a bottle of whiskey and headed up to the attic and the ladder leading to the roof. There, they sprawled out on the catwalk that ran alongside the tall peak of the building that housed the family businesses. They sat side by side, feet dangling off the catwalk, and leaned back onto the slope of the roof to look up at the cloudy sky. Ever so often the black sky would peek in on them, a twinkle of stars or a pool of moonlight to offer comfort. Passing the bottle back and forth, they just spent an hour or so just existing with the sky and snow and the familiar wilderness around them.

"We survived," was all Kara could think to say and Alex squirmed just a little bit closer.

"We did."

That night was a surprisingly peaceful sleep, as though Kara was ready to let go of some of her pain along with the enormous piece of art. Well before the late dawn, she was up and gathering the last of her things, including a sulky Elphie. With the cat settled into her carrier in the truck with the heating mat on and a blanket thrown over most of the open holes, Kara went about double-checking everything. She'd barely gotten started on the straps and chains snugged tight to the art when Alex joined her.

"You sure you won't take Sweetie?"

"If there was weather, maybe, but I've got a clear window to at least get out of the mountains. Besides, you know I'm no fan of your tank's manual clutch."

The tease got her the sneer she was after. 

"You can never get the power out of an automatic that you can out of a manual!"

"Alex, you size queen, your stupid tank can pull a building over."

The old 1979 Jeep Wagoneer had been Jon's baby and Kara had always loved the big SUV. It was a beautiful brute of a machine and in immaculate condition with most of its original parts, and as hardworking at nearly forty years old as it had been new. No one had even asked where The Big Green Martian would go, just handed Kara the keys and paperwork.

Eliza and Jeremiah swung by on their way next door to the diner, hugging Kara goodbye and making sure she had a thermos of coffee and plenty of healthy snacks. Then Kara and Alex clung for long moments, feeling the first real separation since Jon's death.

"Be careful," Alex whispered and Kara relished the crushing grip around her ribs. "Come home safe."

"You too, sis. Love you."

"Love you too."

The other good thing about the sturdy old SUV is that it was strong and could handle the weight behind it. Kara was in no hurry, taking the curvy main road to Packwood nice and slow. Before getting on the freeway, she pulled over to do a final check on the straps and chains, got her music going, gave Elphie a pet and they were on their way.

The storm caught them halfway down the mountain. A wall of snow and rain and wind that had Kara cussing like a sailor as she slowed to a crawl amidst the rest of the traffic. The mass of cars and trucks spent as much time sitting still as they did creeping forward. When Elphie meowed for attention, Kara didn't have to worry about road distractions for a few moments while she let the little cat out and clipped her body harness to the wire that ran along the seatback. That way, she had full run of the front seat and could stand up and look out the window if she wanted to, but was reasonably safe.

"Letting you out is the only good thing about this traffic, huh baby?"

Elphie only trilled happily and bounced back and forth across the seat for a bit before curling up against her friend's leg.

Eventually, the pair crawled past the accident that had turned the road slower than molasses in January, and they could continue on. Ironically, after only a few more miles, the snow cleared and they had to pull over to remove the snow chains. Kara tucked Elphie into her carrier before shrugging on her bulky Carhartt's jacket and cap, tucking away her ponytail. Over the years, she'd learned to do so to save herself time. She'd lost count of the well-meaning and/or asshole men who did little more than slow her down. Because god forbid a blonde, pretty girl would now how to apply and remove tire chains. She'd worn her black boots with the discrete pink piping for the same reason. 

That done, Kara got settled in and let the cat out again before they continued on their way. Due to the long delay in the mountains, she wasn't sure she'd miss traffic in Seattle, and rather than deal with it, she called Mama and Papa Vasquez. The pit stop was as lovely as always, a few calming hours with her second set of parents and Mama's fine cooking. Susan had been a very late surprise to the couple, both of them in their forties when she was born. They were creeping up into their seventies now and Kara was glad to still have them.

Long after dark, the roads had calmed from the commuter chaos and Kara could call over to the hotel to arrange to have the forklift ready and waiting.

"Are you certain this can only be done tonight?" the concierge all but whined on the phone and Kara put on her best 'humor the teacher' good cheer. 

"Sure, if you'd like to explain to the owner why her one hundred and twenty five thousand dollar art installation sat out exposed to the elements all night."

"Look, ma'am, honestly, I'm not trying to obstruct you here. I don't have anyone on staff that can operate the machine right now and I have no idea when, or even if, I can get someone in."

She'd have to ease the trailer into the Vasquez's garage and leave it there overnight, a snug fit and a fiddly parking job, but what could she do?

"Okay. When will you be ready tomorrow?"

The man sounded half faint with relief. "I have Roberto scheduled at ten AM. He's my best and will be at your disposal until the installation is in place, I promise."

"Ten AM then. I'll be there."

Oh well, at least she'd get a good night's sleep in her old second home. She tried calling home, but was unsurprised at the phone line not connecting. It wouldn't be the first time. When the telecomm tower this commission was mostly paying for went up in summer, Kara would be thrilled to join the modern world.

At 9:55 in the morning, the old Wagoneer pulled to a smooth stop in the cramped drop off loop in front of the Hotel Slatewater. Roberto and his forklift were already waiting for her and she quickly got to work.

It was a delicate process done in stages of move the frame, chock the wheels, lather, rinse, repeat. Only when all six wheels were firmly on the ground did Kara breathe more easily. The damn thing was top heavy enough to be nerve-wracking and if it wanted to go, it would crush anyone in its path. With a chain and a slow, deliberate hand, Roberto gently dragged the piece into the lobby and got it generally situated. The concierge was horrified at the machine in his lobby, but there was no getting around it.

There were some snags that day. A lunch break that took Roberto away with only one wheel off the frame, electricians arriving to install the light for the art piece. With ladders pressed to close to her masterpiece, and a heavy fixture dangling precariously above it, Kara was a nervous wreck. They chewed up most of the day, leaving only enough time to get off two more wheels before she had to clear out. Without employees around, she couldn't be in the space for liability reasons. It was frustrating, but there was nothing she could do. 

At least the concierge put her up at the hotel. Even if the kitchen was empty and she was on her own for food.

So she left the trailer behind and went to her usual art supply store near the University of Washington. There was no point in making special trips for supplies and they would lay in huge orders for her to pick up.

They also didn't care that she had a cat on her shoulder. Or tucked into her jacket on rainy days.

The masterpiece had eaten huge chunks of her supplies up and the order was sizable enough to make Kara's eyes just about bug out of her head. She might have to dump out the water barrels in her trunk kept there for weighing the truck down in slippery conditions.

So she shoved box after box after box into her truck, until it even spilled over into the foot-well of the passenger side, but at least she was able to leave Elphie's space open. Priorities. It was chilly and rainy, so Kara didn't linger over hunting down several meals. Laden down with several sandwiches and a hot pasta dish, she returned to the hotel and chilled with her feline companion. 

Christmas Eve was more of the same. The art required some pushing and shoving-- Kara ignored the gawking of the employees at her physical strength-- until the lights hit it just right. Then she had to finagle the live-edge planks that would separate the iron from the tile floor, lining up the mounting holes installed in the floor just for her.

She screwed it up twice and sheepishly had to go get the handful of spares from her truck. Alex could be an infuriating know-it-all, but she was often all to correct in her forethought. If the plank spares weren't from the same actual tree, they were a damn close match. The fiddly work with a ton or two of wood and iron hanging over her was as wearing on the nerves as the body, and Kara was exhausted. When the last nut snugged down onto its bolt, she breathed a sigh of relief. It would take a real act of god to move the thing now.

All that was left now was the aesthetic finishing work. 

Hunched up with her forehead on the lower curve of the art and filing the anchor bolt with busy hands, Kara didn't even consciously note the ruckus at first. Just some pissy customer haranguing the concierge.

Then she remembered the hotel wasn't open yet.

"Can I pet your kitty?"

The child's voice startled Kara into smacking her head against the wood. Swallowing down cussing, she twisted to see a well-dressed girl perhaps ten years old. Before she could respond to the question, several things happened all at once. A familiar voice rose up over the agitated babble that was the knot of four well-dressed adults bothering the concierge. 

"But how are we going to get to this Paradise Lodge? There really isn't even a phone? Barbaric!"

Even as the voice registered, the concierge was trying to placate her. "Mrs. Luthor, the lodge is very isolated and--"

Kara hopped up and patted the child's shoulder. "Give me just a sec and I'll introduce you, okay?" Without waiting for an answer, she rushed over to the desk. "Lillian?"

The older woman looked completely undone, eyes wild with stress, her impeccable appearance bordering on disheveled. She was clearly nonplussed by this overall and flannel-clad ruffian covered in dust and wood shavings. Kara just quirked a little smile and gestured to herself. "Kara Danvers, your artist?"

"Oh, yes, of course. Good to see you, but I…"

"No, I didn't come over here about the art, ma'am. He's right, communication can be erratic in the mountains. Is something wrong?"

The dark blue eyes filling up with tears was not at all what Kara expected. Lex looked just as unnerved, as did the two unknown women with them.

"My daughter is missing."

It clicked then.

"And she was on her way to Paradise Lodge? Where was she coming from?"

After a moment, the dark-hair woman spoke in a voice rough with stress. "Yakima."

The sunny grin that spread over Kara's face was not at all what they expected. "Then she had to drive right past my house. Listen, it would take some serious shit for anything to get past my sister. Odds are well in favor that your daughter is sipping hot chocolate at the lodge or at my home town."

They were all torn, desperately wanting to believe her, but so reluctant. 

"Look, mountain driving is tricky, and can be dangerous, sure, but the small communities take care of not just their own, but the lost and wayward too."

The tiniest bit of tension drained out of the group and Lillian nodded. "All right then, Kara, we'll have to trust your expertise. But we still have to figure out how to get up there and find out for ourselves."

"I'll take you."

The offer surprised Kara as much as the group and she'd said it! Still, she'd never be able to live with herself if she didn't help this worried family, especially on Christmas!

"But not tonight."

Their grateful expressions fell and Lillian drew herself up all haughty. "The art can wait!"

"No, no, Lillian, this isn't about the art. It's about safety. The storm that chased me down the mountain was a doozy and temps have been very low, so there'll be ice and snow down everywhere, regardless of how efficient the plowing is. It will also be a long drive, probably in the neighborhood of six hours. I'll make some calls to see if the shorter route is open, but as it's not a major highway, I'm not holding my breath."

"You'd really do this?" Lillian asked wonderingly. "For a bunch of strangers?"

"Well sure. And besides, it's Christmas."

Kara was very surprised to be swept into a crushing hug for that.

With warnings to pack moderately, Kara gave some names and numbers to the concierge to try and get some road condition info on her routes, and then went back to work with a light heart.

By the time the regular staff was getting itchy to leave, Kara was just finishing up a compete scrub of the art piece, lovingly trailing the rag over the varnished face and the colors she had left behind. She had poured a lot of herself into these images, a lot of love for her homeland, a lot of personal loss, and leaving it behind was going to be hard.

But it was time.

With one last trailing of her hand over the flat face, Kara stepped away, admired the beautiful work a last time… and let it go. Still conflicted, but with a lighter heart, she walked away and left the little piece of her soul where it would give others pleasure for hopefully many long years to come.

Despite being exhausted, she needed to get food supplies and repack the Wagoneer. Elphie wasn't happy about not returning to the comfy hotel room, but settled into her crate while Kara bashed about the truck. Over a hundred gallons of water flooded through the parking garage from the deadweight barrels. Then she mopped them out with stolen stack of hotel towels, cursing her damn shoulders as she struggled to reach the bottom. Then she picked through her supplies to figure out what could survive being subjected to very low temperatures. She still couldn't fill even one barrel, but it was better than nothing. The rest was repacked to maximize space and the emptied boxes discarded in a recycling area she found.

A few more phonecalls, a food run, a hot shower and Kara was more than happy to fall into bad with a groan. Four in the morning was going to come too soon.

Come the pre-dawn, a fancy car pulled up to where Kara was carefully rolling the full barrel up the side of the truck. Before anyone could help, she inched it over the roof rack rail to thump onto the roof and turned with a grin.

"Morning. If you have anything not sensitive to low temperatures, please shove it in the other barrel. Meet your chariot for the day, The Green Martian."

The sweeping bow to the old Wagoneer made Ruby giggle. The adults looked distinctly unimpressed, if not downright fearful of the old SUV.

"He's not pretty, but he'll get you there."

With little choice, the visitors filled the blue plastic barrel with their things, which Kara was grateful to note that they had taken her order of 'pack moderately' to heart. Hoisting the barrel, she shoved it up the side of the SUV to thump into place beside its partner.

"Okay, I'll need a few minutes to strap those down, then we're gone. We're making a quick pit stop in Tacoma to drop the trailer off with a friend. It'll be a safer drive without it."

Grabbing the heavy straps that had held her art safe, Kara hopped up to the edge of the open trunk and bodily wrestled her weight up on to the roof of the Wagoneer. A few knots and the click of the ratchet mechanism and their things were safe to get home.

"There's an animal in here," Lillian said, a tad aghast.

"That's her kitty," Ruby said in the exasperated tone only small children seemed to be able to master. "Can I say hello, Kara?"

"Of course! I never did get to introductions yesterday, sorry about that. Her name is Elphie."

"Hi Elphie. I like your sweater."

Dropping off the side of the roof, Kara landed in a crouch and went back to the trunk to double-check her load. The last thing she needed was a box crushing one of her passengers. Ruby's feet were dangling out the passenger door and Elphie's purring rumbled loud enough to be heard at the back of the big truck.

"Okay kid, you ride in the middle front. You get to be keeper of the cat and the radio and will crowd me the least."

"Cool!"

"Buckle in and I'll get Elphie prepped for you."

Humming to herself, Kara pulled the long leash from her bag and knotted it off with a foot and half or so of length around the seatback wire. She made sure it was at Ruby's right side so that Elphie had two laps to choose from and could still peek out the window.

"Sorry you have to ride with the cat carrier under your feet, Ruby, but there's no other place for it."

"I'll be okay. I just might need to stretch out a little bit."

"No problem, we have a couple of stops to make on the way. Lex, do you think you can manage the backseat with the smaller ladies?"

They all looked at each other and then began climbing in.

"Would you like to join us in the front, Lillian?"

Frankly, the woman looked like she'd rather be anywhere else and the vehicle hadn't even moved yet. But worry won out and she tucked herself into Ruby, slamming the last door shut. With a roar of an engine from when SUVs were true badasses, the Martian and his passengers were away.

It was a quiet ride to Tacoma with little more than the local oldies channel and Elphie's purring. Mama and Papa Vasquez were happy to provide coffee and a pit stop while Kara stowed the trailer. Ruby was the grumpiest, as she'd been sleeping in the car, but was mollified with a mug of tea with a touch of milk and enough honey to make her smile. That, and Elphie stuck close to her new laps. 

The little cat was winding around Ruby's ankles and making a nuisance of her leash. When Kara came over to retrieve her so that Ruby could walk again, the girl was looking up at one of Kara's pieces, looming large over the fireplace. It was an angled slice of tree close to the root, its edge a fascinating, undulating shape. On the subtle rings and shifting colors were three little girls clinging together with smiles that carried across the years.

"That's me and my sister and Susan. Who has essentially been my sister since I was eight years old. That's how I know the Vasquez family here. Grab your coat and I'll tell you the rest in the car, okay?"

"Sure. Could I carry Elphie?"

"Absolutely." 

Everyone knew the routine now and they were off after Kara's last hug to her second family.

"So, my town is really tiny. Like two hundred-ish people in winter tiny."

"Seriously?" Ruby marveled.

"Yep. We swell up to about six hundred in the few warm months. It's all I've ever known, so it never seemed small to me. But the only school was the next town over and it was pretty lousy. Then it closed and what were me and Alex supposed to do? Our mom is crazy smart and wanted big things for us, so she and Dad found a boarding school not far from here to send us to. The Vasquezes are old friends and Susan is Alex's age, so we'd live with them during the school week and go home on the weekends. Susan usually came with us."

"So you pretty much had two big sisters."

"I did, and I love them both."

"That must be really nice," Ruby said wistfully and Kara wanted to give her a hug. "Why do you paint on trees?"

Kara could almost feel Sam wanting to lightly chide her daughter for nagging the stranger, but Kara merely chuckled warmly as she navigated them back to the freeway. "It's different, right? Well, I started out just painting on wood scraps and pieces of firewood and things. I love the way it feels against my hands, the grain of it, how every piece is so different. My family made sure I had plenty of non-toxic paint and if no one wanted to keep my scribbles, they were used as firewood."

"Oh no!"

Warmed at how aghast Ruby sounded at that, Kara chuckled again and rushed to reassure her. "Oh, it's okay. There was a lot of it and plenty was kept over the years. I'm pretty sure Alex picked up woodworking just for me-- she's sweet that way-- and turned out to be really talented at it too. In fact, she cut me that huge piece of tree back at the hotel, from an old-growth yellow cedar that fell down in a storm. She tells me she's pretty sure the tree was about maximum size for its species, which is about 130 feet tall."

"Wow."

"Right? Now that the art is done and installed, I guess I better split the money with her."

Ruby just laughed.

"Just so that you folks know," Kara raised her voice just a bit to get their attention. "Susan works at the Paradise Lodge. Your Lena will be in good hands."

There were murmurs of thank yous tinged with relief and contemplative quiet reigned for some time. But the kid didn't let it last.

"I like your boots."

It was such a wonderfully random comment and Kara was delighted. 

"Me too! These aren't my absolute favorites, but they're close."

In the weak sunlight of morning, Kara waggled her free left foot, knocking the heavy sole of her paint-stained pink workboot against the Wagoneer's superstructure.

"My absolutely favorites are a lot like these, which my sister got for me when I was sixteen and finally stopped growing. The pink thing started years before though. See, my family runs a couple of businesses housed in the same large building. My mom and dad run the town's diner and Alex and my Uncle Jon," her voice caught a bit, "run the mechanic shop. When I was about your age, I kept sticking my nose in the shop because Alex was in there all the time learning from Jon and I was curious. But, see, I'm a bit of a klutz sometimes. So Alex started collecting safety gear for me, made out of or painted hot pink. Now, I'm pretty sure I don't even own any shoes that aren't somehow at least a little pink like these are." Her quirk of a smile was a lifetime of love and friendship. "If you think these are a mess, you should see my painting boots, which are my favorites. They're barely pink anymore from being worn to death and getting covered in paint."

"Do you have lots of pink stuff besides the boots?"

A mischievous smirk played around Kara's mouth as she watched the road before her. "I do. But the best pink thing? Well that was a great joke me and Uncle Jon played on Alex. She was out of town for a few days and we did it. See, there's another vehicle in the family that makes this look like a toy. It's an old military tow truck with a huge crane on the back and it's twice as tall as me and has three axles and is as long as a city bus with the snowplow on it and is just ridiculous. Alex named it Sweetie and it stuck. So Jon found some of the old pink warning tape she uses on my stuff, the punk, and we started dressing up Sweetie because her old warning tape was getting trashy. And then we found the cans of spray paint… and, well, we went a little crazy. We stenciled her name on her side and all sorts of fun pink trim. Which doesn't look as bad against army green as you might think. Alex was horrified. It was hilarious. But she also left it alone. In fact, just a few years ago, they finally got Sweetie in exactly the shape they wanted. So, to celebrate, Alex repainted the monster and added the pink back on! We'd all gotten used to it and she knew I'd pout."

"But there's no pink on this car."

The child couldn't know how the comment hurt, stabbing into that tender place in her soul that had barely begun to heal. But Kara's face said it all. She had to swallow hard a few times to calm herself, but her voice was still rough when she did speak.

"Yeah, this was my Uncle Jon's truck. He died in April."

When the signs for the off-ramp Kara had been waiting for suddenly popped up, she could have just about wept with gratitude. She held it together until she could pull into the fuel line and let her hands shake the way they wanted to.

"Do you think you could fill this up? Just the regular grade stuff is fine."

Lillian nodded, her eyes sympathetic.

"Don’t let Elphie out of your sight, okay?"

And she fled.

Hiding in the bathroom stall, Kara fought down the shakes and pain until she felt a bit saner. It had been the first time she'd spoken to a stranger about her loss and it hit so hard. Using the facilities, she went to the sink to wash up and scrub wet hands over her flushed face. Returning to the car, she ached with how traumatized Ruby looked. 

"I'm so sorry, Kara."

Not knowing if she could hug, Kara set her hands on Ruby's shoulders. "Ruby, you absolutely did nothing wrong. You couldn't have known. And my Uncle Jon was an amazing guy, and deserves to be remembered and talked about, but I just miss him. A lot."

The girl's strong hug felt good and Kara happily returned it.

Hours later, stuck in a traffic jam that would make any New Yorker or Angelino seethe, the little emotional breakdown at the fuel stop seemed almost pleasant in contrast.

"This seems rather… excessive for a narrow mountain highway," Lillian said quietly and Kara swallowed down a melodramatic sigh. 

"Holiday traffic and too many people who don't know how to chain their tires. Barring an accident, we should move a little better once get past that. But, yes, this is really bad. Sorry about that."

Smirking mischievously at the desperately bored Ruby-- who was doing a remarkable job of behaving herself-- Kara couldn't resist trying to lighten the mood.

"If Alex were here with Sweetie, she'd just drop the massive snowplow on the nose and shove everyone out of the way like a train!"

"Your sister sounds amazing."

"She totally is. She annoys me and makes me laugh and backs me up on everything and is the best friend, partner and pal anyone could ever have on any planet."

"Do you believe in aliens?"

"Well sure. I'm driving a Martian, aren't I?"

Ruby laughed and the happy sound was apparently some sort of cosmic key as the traffic began shifting forward.

"You're my lucky charm, kiddo. We finally made it to the chain stop, see the police lights? They'll only let people through with chains on with this much snow and ice down. And they break up all this congestion to help keep us moving over the mountains. Thankfully, we're only going part way. That will help. Grab your coats folks, I'll leave the engine running for the heater, but opening the door will drop the temps. If you need to stretch your legs, stick close to the truck for your safety."

With the police corralling traffic, the clusterfuck of vehicles were sorted out to the shoulders to chain up before moving on. The slap of cold was a relief after the stifling conditions of the overcrowded truck and Kara breathed deep for a moment before shrugging on the battered old Carhartt's jacket of her father's that was older than she was. Between the old jacket and an earflap hat stolen from Alex years ago, she could work in reasonable peace. She'd lost track of the well-meaning to jackass males over the years who insisted she needed help.

Luckily, nothing in the trunk had shifted much and she was able to grab the gloves deliberately left with the filthy sack containing the chains. This was a task as familiar to her as holding a paintbrush. 

"You're fast at this," Lex commented where he'd stepped out to get some feeling back in his legs.

"I was probably about eight years old when Alex and my dad started making me do this and a million other tasks to survive life in a little mountain town."

Elphie complained and snuggled under Ruby's coat when Kara hopped back in to coax the big SUV forward onto the chains laid out in the snow. Then she could kneel at each big tire and snug up the webbing of chains around the rubber to give her traction in the slippery conditions.

Part of winter survival as much a part of her as sight, sound and touch, was a peripheral awareness of her surroundings. So when the bright blue coupe lost its grip and slid sideways in her general direction, Kara was already in motion. She was around the front bumper even as the car jerked to a halt.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!"

The voice belonged to a stressed-out woman stepping out from behind the wheel of the smaller car. A small face pressed to the passenger side window stopped any sharp comment that might have been rattling around Kara's head. "I'm okay. This traffic is stressful. Do you need a hand?"

The little boy in the passenger seat looked wide-eyed at the weirdly dressed stranger as the trunk yawned open. Kara just smiled warmly and noted the trunk full of presents and a diaper bag that matched the sound of an infant crying from the carseat in the rear bench seat.

"I'm here to help. Santa sent me."

In short order, Kara had the brand-new-in-the-bag tire chains in place. With a grateful hug from the stressed single mom, Kara happily sent her off and then finished up with her own tires. Chilled, she was glad to shrug off her coat and climb back behind the wheel.

"Sorry about the delay. Had to help someone out. Let's finish this journey, shall we?"

"That was very decent of you," Lillian said quietly as the SUV moved back into the steady trickle of traffic.

"In this environment, it's a necessity. The cold can kill fast up here. Keeping an eye out for trouble is second nature. That's one of the reasons I believe your missing Lena should be fine."

But the sheer amount of snow that had fallen and remained on the ground worried Kara just a little, even as she kept the thought behind her teeth.

Traffic was moving, but certainly not fast, and half the truck was subtly squirming by the time Packwood appeared.

"Let's hope the coffee shop isn't a complete mess," she said and half of her passengers woke form various levels of dozing. "We're close, but need a last pit stop for a bathroom and any road info I can glean."

The instant the doors opened, it was clear that the hard blue sky had brought in frigid temperatures.

"Jeez, we're New Yorkers and this is cold," Sam commented wearily. "We're underdressed."

"I can help a bit with that. Come on, Elphie."

With the clip on her harness released from its mooring, the cat obeyed the light tug on it to hop into Kara's big jacket. Her little face peered out while her human dug around under the seat to pull out a handful of gaudily-toned flannel.

"Hopefully these will help."

More concerned for her daughter than herself, Sam draped the thick shirts around Ruby. "You're doing really great, sweetie. Hopefully, we're almost there and we can get Lena and have a decent Christmas."

Nodding wearily, Ruby leaned into her for a moment before they followed the others into the crowded coffee shop. Unluckily, there was no one in that Kara knew, a rarity to be sure, and the group would have to wait to get any information. No matter the hurry her passengers were in to find their missing loved one, she was definitely stopping in to talk with Alex. She would know any news. Alex always knew.

"These must have come from your sister, right?"

Ruby's cheeky question where she'd appeared at Kara's elbow made her laugh. Huddled in oversized layers of clashing pink and purple, she looked very small and very young.

"You picked up that theme, eh? When I used to steal all her loosest shirts, she bought me my own. I still have piles of the girliest colored flannel you've ever seen in your life. I don't know how she tracks them down, but she does." Leaning over to mock-whisper conspiratorially, Kara added, "don't tell Alex, but sometimes I steal her shirts just because they're hers."

Again, Ruby giggled, wrapping her chilly hands around Kara's closest hand, which she found pleasantly warm. "Are they better?"

"Sometimes. She gets more normal colors and they always smell just a little bit like her, no matter how much they're washed. So I steal them for a little bit of comfort and a little bit of brattiness. What are little sisters for?"

A very weary Sam swayed over to them, smiling at how Ruby had taken to the kind stranger helping them. Lillian and Lex looked worn down by the long morning as well. "You've gone above and beyond, Kara."

"My pleasure. As soon as Jess joins us, we'll finish up this too-long trek. We're going to swing past my family to get any news, which includes the road conditions and why there's been no ready communication with the lodge. Worst case scenario, we'll bust out the snowmobiles."

The looks on their faces was something Kara would secretly cherish for years to come.

"It's so pretty here," Ruby marveled at the folds and jagged teeth of the glorious Cascade Mountains walling in the pass. Draped in their lacy winter finery, the stone and soils and trees were a beauty not to be underestimated. "I really hope Aunt Lena's okay and we can stay for a couple days."

Meeting Lillian's worried gaze over the child's head, Kara spoke in her calmest voice, the one that Alex had taught her over a lifetime. "We'll go find out more right now. You've got a good grip on Elphie's leash?"

"Uh huh. Though I think she likes Lillian's lap better."

Sure enough, Elphie was standing up on her hind legs, paws on the top of the door to peer out the window. Lillian seemed a little nonplussed, but pet the silky black fur anyway.

"She knows we're close to home."

Winding through Packwood away from the freeway, Kara steered the big Jeep to the steep road leading to the narrow valley that led to home. She was excited to be close to the family she missed dearly.

"Everyone will be up at the Mayor's house today. We always do a big potluck and hang out together on Christmas. You guys have to be starving by now. And we'll get what information…"

Slowing, Kara stared at the huge, raw face of a tree only just down and chainsawed away from where it had clearly fallen across the road. No matter that she had been far too young to remember what had happened to her and her birth parents all those years ago, the sight shook her.

Shaking off the sense of ominous cold up her spine, Kara accelerated away from the stump, hoping her passengers hadn't picked up on her unease.

No one in the car spoke as the old Jeep Wagoneer wound higher up the valley.

It was always bizarre to see the diner dark, the 'closed' sign strange in the window. Turning up the lone street that was the spine of Midvale, Kara fought the urge to press harder on the accelerator, to get to her family faster. But safety was a lesson drilled into her from the sturdy boots on her feet to the warm hat perched loosely on her head. Sometimes those drilled in lessons were the only thing to counterbalance Alex's recklessness and Kara's creative, scattered mind. 

Only minorly soothed by her familiar surroundings, Kara gave into the nervous tick of one thumb on the steering wheel as she turned to the Grant's driveway and followed the sinuous curves of the long, long driveway through the trees.

Alex and the townsfolk would know what to do.

She needed the reassurance of her loved ones, their steadiness and support after the emotional upheavals of leaving behind her masterpiece, of being pummeled once again by memories of losing Jon, of hours of worry for a stranger.

Figuring the back of the house was less crowded, Kara swung the SUV past the pool house and up the back driveway to squeeze in by the stables.

"Watch your footing," she distractedly warned and barely paused long enough to unclip Elphie and bring her along.

Inside the house, the cat squirmed away, leaping down to vanish with her leash trailing after her. She would make a beeline for Alex, missing the woman as much as Kara did, and Kara dutifully followed, uncaring that she hadn't removed her snowy boots.

It unfolded like a movie.

Elphie hopped up onto one of the comfy leather chairs, a hand smoothing over her head and back. The clusters of familiar neighbors parted and there was Alex, sitting up, delighted and shocked, relief flooding Kara. And standing up from her lap… was the missing Lena.

While the pack of Luthors and friends descended on Lena, Kara took the opportunity to grab her sister in a joint-cracking hug.

"Oof. Glad you're home, Kara."

"Merry Christmas, my favorite person in the world. They've been really worried and I'm glad she's safe."

Squirming until she could get her arms free, Alex returned the hug. Smooching her sister nearly on the eye, Alex leaned back and grinned at the mock sour look for the sloppy gesture. "It's been a crazy few days. Did that storm catch you, or just chase you down the mountain?

"Oh, it caught me fair and square. Had to overnight in Tacoma because there was no one at the hotel that could help me unload by the time I finally made it off mountain."

"Did the install go okay?"

"It went fine. What's up with you and the lost lamb?"

Alex flushed pink and stepped away, but Kara wasn't going to let her get away so easily, grabbing a handful of shirt. Her warning look promised that Kara was going to be a pitbull about the situation.

So she tried to deflect a bit. 

"Y'know she seemed surprised and maybe relieved that I don't know why I apparently should know who she is."

"Seriously?" Kara's disbelief was not feigned.

"And how the hell did you manage to find her family anyway?"

"Seriously?" Flabbergasted at her clueless sibling, Kara's voice rose over the babble of voices. "Aaaaaaaaaaaalex! What the hell! How can you not know who the Luthors are? It's small town USA, not Mars!"

Now Alex just looked exasperated and possibly a little annoyed. "What are you jabbering about?"

"She's been missing for three days! The media has been in a frenzy as bad as her family. I never thought she'd be here with you! I can't believe you kidnapped Lena Luthor!"

Despite suspecting the missing Lena had been curled up in Alex's lap, the kiss still startled Kara. No, not that some pretty girl was kissing her sister, please, Alex had game since she was about ten years old, but that there was an underlying emotion to it Kara had never seen before. 

"I'm sorry, Alex. I never meant for any of what I am to affect you," Lena said quietly, her voice achingly vulnerable. "You've been so amazing to me, how could I not fall head over heels for you? But, yes, I have brought a unique chaos to your doorstep. That I regret, because you're so happy at exactly what you are and no one should change that."

Only Kara caught her mother's reaction to the heartfelt words. She had always been hard on Alex, wanting big things for both of her daughters, but Kara had always felt that maybe Eliza pushed too hard. By the look on her face, Eliza had just had a revelation. Well, if that held, Kara would give the new girl a break just for that.

Smile a little shaky, Alex stroked Lena's cheek tenderly and Kara marveled at the sweetness in her expression.

"We haven't had a lot of time to get to know one another," Alex said quietly and Lena's smile was an echo of similar emotions.

"We haven't. Could we change that? I'd like to stay around, take a chance with you. If you'll have me."

Alex's crushing hug was answer enough.

In the chaos of surprise arrivals and everyone catching up, and remembering Jon and getting some food in her starved belly, it was some time before Kara could catch up to the pretty, green-eyed stranger. She looked tired and pleasantly overwhelmed and Kara felt sorta bad for cornering her. Still, it didn't stop her from doing her best to look large and intimidating, channeling her best Alex impersonation and glowering at little. 

She was puppyishly pleased with the effect of watching the pretty lady blanch a little. That the preening utterly ruined any semblance of intimidation barely registered.

"So, you and my sister."

Nodding a little jerkily, Lena seemed at a loss of how to interact with Kara, knowing how important she was to Alex

"She talked about you all the time. Well, not all the time, that would have been weird, because, well, we…"

The implication was clear in the way Lena looked like she wanted to run from the room, cheeks flushed, and despite herself, Kara was charmed. 

"God, this is so embarrassing. I'm normally better at this, but she's special, and that makes you special, and your folks and…"

"She's great, right?"

The nervous tension that bordered on alarm in Lena's expression eased into the vulnerable soul-baring adoration that had those striking green eyes searching for Alex in the crowd. The instant they connected, Kara could see it.

"She's amazing."

Could two strangers really, truly fall in love in just a few days? Kara didn't have that answer. But there was one thing that she knew as surely as she did the colors and shapes of the worlds she put to paint. Lena was every bit as effected as Alex by this unexpected connection between them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From my IMs with theillogicalthinker: so I supposed you want the puppy child to try and be all 'rarr! I am mean and scary and you better be nice to my sister!' and ending up with a best friend  
> i like the idea that Kara can actually be intimidating. She's tallish and buit like an athlete and can channel that cold stare from Alex. But she sucks at maintaining it, particularly when she finds she likes Lena


	7. Scenelets Of A New Life Together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I got a wild hair to work on this and bashed out a bunch of mini-scenes that were scattered in my notes. Oh, there's more to be sure, these are some of the best ones. I really enjoyed my little Hallmark movie and I'm both pleased and sad to be finally moving on. Enjoy everyone!

Lena was so grateful that most of her family stayed over through New Year's, enjoying their company. Particularly since the town shenanigans the day after Christmas led Alex to being stuck in bed, sick as a dog.

"Okay, the kid has gone home, we're here and relaxed and I was promised the story of the polar bear plunge," Lena insisted on New Year's evening as she relaxed with the sisters and Jess. Sprawled out in the north lounge of Cat's lodge, they were comfortable, Alex's head in her girlfriend's lap, half asleep from tender fingers playing with her hair. Half sighing and half chuckling, she nosed into Lena's belly, pressing a kiss to her abs.

"I--"

"Shut it, sicko!" Kara yelled over Alex's hoarse reply. "You let me embarrass you, and keep your mouth shut until you're healed. Honestly, you're the worst when you're sick."

Grumbling, Alex snuggled in, but her mouth was tipped up in a smile. Kara handed a generous glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice to a weary Jess, victim of a lesser version of the cooties that had laid Alex low. The she set down the enormous mug of coffee in her other hand.

"You're sharing that with me, Luthor."

"Aye-aye," Lena sassed and saluted. Throwing herself down onto the couch to set Alex's feet in her lap to be rubbed, Kara looked thoughtful. Alex just made an undignified noise of delight from all the attention.

"Okay, so Midvale was incorporated the day after Christmas, because who is gonna do government business on Christmas? So, I hear that the townsfolk used to race horses up and down the valley. The snowmobile things makes sense as the modern version. But the jumping in Krypton lake in the dead of winter? Oh, that takes a special kind of idiot."

Alex only chuckled and scoffed.

"You shut it. So, here's fourteen year old Alex, Lucy and Susan, drunk as fucking skunks, and they decide they want an adventure. I didn't go, because they always scared me when they got in those moods, but after awhile, I started worrying. Because that's what I did all the damn time, worry."

"Like another mom," Alex croaked and ignored Kara's light swat to her ankle.

"I snagged Dad's keys to the UTV and headed up to the lake, which I'd heard them talking about."

"Nosey."

"Shut up. Turns out, Lucy and dumbass here had decided to go skinny-dipping and Susan was too drunk to be any use in getting their stupid asses out of the water. Now, the lake has hot springs keeping it from freezing sure, but just barely! So I get the winch out to get them, blue and shaking, out of the water. Stuffed them into the UTV, where they laughed about it, and Susan climbed into the little box in the back."

By that time, Alex was laughing breathlessly. "Ripped off both mirrors, half shredded the thing's door, nearly plowed right into the shop's door. It was great."

"Ugh, you are such a pain in the ass, Alex, I swear. Somehow, me and Susan got the fucking human disasters into the shower and a lukewarm spray to defrost. At least Susan felt bad enough to go for Mom and Dad."

"Did your parents murder you?" Lena laughed and gave a pinch of hair a sharp tug.

"Just about. I was grounded for a year. We made an annual event of it when we were eighteen and all Mom and Dad could do was facepalm about it. Good times."

"Good times, she says," Kara growled. "Took ten years off my life that day. I should look like I'm fifty with all the shit you got into. And you were certainly a walking warning to behave myself, asshole."

"Love you, sis. What would I do without my guardian angel?"

After a good group giggle, Jess spoke up softly, "your cackling with Lucy at the pool about 'better than the hospital', makes so much more sense now."

Alex flashed her a thumbs-up and wiggled her toes into Kara's belly. Ticklish, Kara swatted at her and made childish noises of objection. As always, they were a riot together.

"I can see why you didn't want to tell Ruby that story. Thank you for restraining yourself."

Alex grinned and rolled to her back to look flirtatiously up at Lena. "I grew out of the worst of my nonsense for the most part."

"Thank god," Kara muttered and Alex ignored her.

"Besides, I don't want Sam mad at me."

Lena looked playfully thoughtful, tapping her lip with one hand and stroking Alex's relaxed face with the other. "Still, I hardly see how this story is worse than the herd of elk and the fireworks."

Alex just sighed as the others laughed at her.

 

NOTES  
Since there was no elegant way to include the story with the elk and the fireworks, I shall provide the raw IM notes for the hell of it.   
Shatterpath: "My wild girl." Eliza and Sam nodding along  
theillogicalthinker: When Lillian comes in, "Wild? Lena was downright dastardly. Sometimes feral. As a teenager anyway." All the moms nod along.  
Shatterpath: "I hardly think a tramp stamp when I was sixteen beats out the Great Elk Stampede, Mom!"  
Kara's like, "Nope. Don't hide behind me, Alex. This one is ALL YOU."  
theillogicalthinker: "DON'T GET ANY IDEAS RUBY!" Ruby just looks innocently at her mom.  
Shatterpath: "Well, um, you see... it was like this..." Alex dying of embarrassment  
theillogicalthinker: Alex and Ruby whispering behind everyone. "Aunt Alex that was insane!"  
"Don't I know it."  
They fistbump.  
Shatterpath: "I didn't MEAN to set off Pete's herd! It's just... y'know... fireworks..."  
the other moms just stare at Eliza, who sighs.  
Lena giggling her fool head off. "Did you at least jump on one and ride it?"  
"NO! They'd have murdered me worse than Pete and Mom did! Trust me that elk are no more big cows with antlers any more than bison are." -shudder of horror-

 

\----

Lena would never admit her disappointment in waking up alone in the big, cozy bed.

"And you don't count," she teased Pepper lightly and the freckled spaniel just wagged her tail and dispensed a single lick to the nose. Bear seemed amused by the younger dog's endless energy and laid his head on the bed to stare soulfully at his favorite human until she pet his head and ears.

Doing her best to shake off the memory of Alex warmly wrapped around her during the night, Lena once again raided the collection of soft, warm, enticing fabrics. Everything Alex owned was a feast for her senses.

Following the smell of coffee led her to the diner, which was already quieting from a clearly busy morning. Jeremiah smiled and Eliza's voice called from the kitchen. "Good morning, Lena. Feeling up for a little adventure on your own?"

She hesitated. For all the beauty of this place, it still scared her a bit. The exquisite razor edge of wilderness and this small pocket of civilization brought into sharp focus by the frigid air and white snow just outside of the windows and walls. Then she realized that she had already dressed for the occasion, starting to sweat under her layers.

The smile that bloomed over the young woman's face warmed the Danvers parents completely.

"Yes. I am absolutely ready for a little adventure on my own."

"Good! Take the UTV. We'll get you trained up on the snowmobiles at some later point."

"Thank you, Jeremiah." 

"Just head up the road and listen for the chainsaws!"

With a pair of coolers in hand, Lena took command of the UTV and its tank-tread 'wheels'. She was relieved to have the security of a vehicle, despite the fate of the last one she had been in. Besides, now she and the dogs both could ride in style. 

It was just three days past the new year and Lena felt more and more at home every day cradled by these awe-inspiring mountains and these wonderful people she'd fallen in with.

"Up the road and listen for the chainsaws," she muttered to herself and fought the steering wheel through the snow. The treads might provide amazing grip but they were like wrestling an alligator. At the last tire-marks in the snow, Lena shut of the engine and just sat.

For a breathless moment of time, time itself barely seemed to exist. In the jagged, dark wall of trees against the snow, in the burning cold of the clean air, in the bowl of achingly blue sky, she was very small and very present in the moment.

The buzz of chainsaw was an almost unwelcome interruption, but she nonetheless followed the sound. A much larger vehicle had come through and its ruts made the UTV wander a bit. Lena didn't fight the bubble of laughter in her throat at the rollercoaster. 

Soon enough she came to Alex's absurdly big truck with an equally absurd trailer behind it. The behemoth had already been turned back the way it had come, leaving great swathes of flattened tracks in what must be a field under all the snow.

"Go find Alex and Kara," she encouraged Pepper, who hesitated with tail wagging before charging off, baying like a lunatic. Chuckling at the dog, Lena cupped her gloved hands around her mouth. "Hot coffee!"

The yodeling cry echoed around the snowy landscape and a raven croaked somewhere. She entertained herself trying to mimic the bird and sipping at one of the thermos mugs stashed in the coolers.

As she was wondering if the sisters would ever answer her hail, larger engines roared to life and it sounded like they were working hard. When the first snowmobile struggled from the trees, it became immediately clear they were indeed struggling. At first, Lena could only guess there was a tree at the end of the straining line behind the machine.

By the enthusiasm the rider waved with, Lena would have known it was Kara even without recognizing the big Ski-Doo, and she waved back. The machine wandered off the right somewhat drunkenly and its engine wailed, spitting snow all over the track behind her. Hunched over the controls, Kara somehow coaxed power and control both and the snowmobile lurched closer. Somewhat closer.

In her wake was Alex on her beefy Lynx, a couple lengths ahead from a tangle of rough-trimmed roots as tall as the light-bar on the snowmobile. Open ground proved too much for the machines and they wailed and dug in until clods of dirt went flying.

Kara gave up first, the debris cloud settling behind her. Clearly frustrated, Alex smacked the control bar before turning the machine off and the quiet revealed Kara's wild laughter.

"You should have let your girlfriend upgrade you!"

She got flipped the bird for that one and Lena hid her smile behind her mug. Alex might still be a bit unnerved at the sheer scope of the Luthor wealth, but Kara hadn't hesitated a moment when Lena offered a new snowmobile as a late Christmas gift. The younger sisters had quickly become inseparable friends, full of excited chatter and giggling. Alex's sappy looks at them was the sweetest encouragement.

Both sisters waved before untethering their machines from the load and buzzing over to where Lena had perched herself on the high rear deck of the truck.

"Next load, I'm coming in first," Alex grumbled and Kara just cackled more.

"What, so we can both get stuck nearly at the treeline? Hi Lena!"

Both of them were dressed in crimson red hardhats with earmuffs flipped up and a mesh faceplate. Matching that were, absurdly, bright red chaps, dirty with use. Wood chips and speckles of ice and snow decorated them like wintry angels. Lena was hardly surprised neither of their jackets were zipped up.

"Chilly weather for forest thinning, eh? I come bearing a snack and coffee."

"No, you share! Dammit, Kara!"

There was a brief tussle over what turned out to be fat sandwiches full of egg and bacon and ham. Kara brattily took a bite of both before she let her smaller sister wrestle one away and they inhaled the 'snack' like starving dogs. There was a lot of lighthearted jostling at one another, the two of them in clear high spirits, their bodies pressed close to Lena's dangling feet and shins.

With half the coffee chugged down and a satisfied sigh, Alex finally spoke up. "Not thinning, actually. This thing has been hanging a little precariously for three seasons and we had some time to kill."

"And we had to wait for the permit to take it legally," Kara chimed in where she'd waded over to the back of the truck to fiddle with the crane.

"We always use up most, if not all, of our permits for the big trees for large holiday events, so this one took some time," Alex explained as she snuggled into Lena's knees and gave her girlfriend those sweet, soft eyes until she earned a kiss. "Luckily, I have a good relationship with the Forest Service and can get permission for special culls of healthy trees from federally protected lands if there's good cause. And, y'know, as long as I don't push it. Those big Christmas trees are the best money we make all year too."

"Helloooooooo, Santa!" Kara laughed as the truck clanked and vibrated, the heavy hook at the end of the crane spooling out in her arms.

With chains and heavy straps, the sisters attached the hook to the hitch at the rear of Alex's Lynx and she slowly spooled it out to the big tree. With the tirelessness of an excited child, Kara smacked her gloved hands together and poked Lena in the head.

"Hey you, make yourself comfy while I get Sweetie braced to pull that monster."

"Wait, what?"

"It'll be fun!"

After starting up the truck's huge engine to power the hydraulics, Kara athletically clambered onto the bed to eyeball the control pod for the crane and mop it off with a rag. She popped off a couple of braces stored atop the crane before leaping down to the ground and busily pulling stabilizers from their housing in the rear bumper. Reluctantly, Lena got to her feet and went to the cramped little seat welded to the crane. She eyeballed the four control levers, relieved that were each clearly marked to their function.

"Okay, can you line the nose of the boom up with Alex? That tree might shift to the left during the pull, but it's not a drama. Just stop pulling, swing the boom a bit and start up again. We're not in any sort of hurry here."

Reassured by the calm cheerfulness, Lena carefully touched the rightmost control, joggling it towards her gingerly. Kara chuckled where she was waiting under the big steel arm.

"It's not gonna bite, Luthor. The system is hydraulic and moves pretty smoothly."

So Lena took a deep breath and pulled the lever decisively. Still, she squeaked when crane and seat alike swung to her right. Jerking it back to center stopped the movement. "Hang on a second, Kara, I went a little too far."

Ready for the motion now, Lena aimed the crane like a canon at her lover.

"Now lower it a bit to maximize the pull. Good!"

It was a real thrill to control something so powerful. Kara quickly set up the braces to the boom and Alex waved both arms and revved the snowmobile away from the tree for her safety. 

"All yours, Lena!"

Bolstered by Kara's relaxed attitude about this madness, Lena placed her hand on the hoist control, took a deep breath, and pulled. It was the damnest sensation, hearing the heavy steel arm beside her tighten and creak, the heavy cables pulled taut. Scraping and shoveling up dirt and snow alike, the huge chunk of tree was dragged right up to the truck, Alex following alongside it.

"I can see why you like this!" Lena called out gleefully as she returned the control to its neutral position. Alex hopped off her machine and ducked around the roots to join her sister.

"You look good up there, sexy. If you take it nice and slow, you think you can swing this beast over to the trailer?"

The chunk of tree was no small thing, but Lena's nervous fear was gone. The sisters believed in her, she had a respectful wariness of these powerful machines, and clearly marked controls. She'd be okay.

With much banter and the sister's carefully positioning themselves to be in the least danger from the huge chunk of tree, the root end was settled to the trailer. Lena shivered in the cold while they changed the rigging to the other end of the tree so that end could be swung up to the trailer as well. Telescoping out the big crane was a trip and it whined in protest of the weight of the raw wood. 

Frankly, Lena was relieved when the load settled with no mishaps. She met Alex at the back of the truck, grateful for the helping hands and the tight hug.

"Good to have you here, love. Many hands make light work."

Kara ignored their kissing, but Lena caught the motion in the corner of her eye, jerking back as a snowball whizzed past where her cheek had been a moment before.

"Oh, you're gonna get it, sunshine!"

Warmed by romping about in the snow after her taller pal, Lena was willing to hop onto the big snowmobile behind Alex for a brief cuddle while they buzzed into the forest to get the rest of the salvageable part of the tree. She noted a couple standing dead trees mixed in with the rich green, their dried branches pale and breaking off.

"Why didn't you take those?"

Alex grinned where she was dragging branches to scatter them more naturally. "Those are snags and they're invaluable wildlife habitat."

"Oh! That makes sense."

The smaller piece of tree was a cinch to drag right up to the trailer where Sweetie picked it up to settle it to the trailer.

"We're totally dragging you along for these projects from now on!" Kara cackled as she helped Alex chain down the load. "This goes way faster when we don't have to keep climbing up there to run the crane."

"It was fun! But I'm half frozen and it sounds like Pepper is about to tear the UTV to pieces."

"I'll let her out to run around a bit."

The spaniel frisked about with the unfettered joy of a playful dog, but came back when called, throwing her snowy self into the UTV, tail going like a boat propeller. Bear was his more dignified self, trotting about to stretch his legs and give Pepper something to play tag with, but sticking close to his human. Leaving the sisters to wrestle Sweetie and her load through the drifts and uneven ground, Lena dispensed hugs and kisses before gratefully puttering back to the diner. 

As much fun as she had experienced doing yet another completely new thing, she was desperate for the huge fireplace, as much for the warmth of community as the hot fire.

\----

She hadn't meant to fall in here, hadn't meant to let the crisp air and towering trees and hardworking locals get under her skin. She was supposed to pass through and pick up the life she knew in a setting that befit her rank and station. Grand things were her blood and bone, and she was never supposed to get tripped up in someone else's details.

Yet, here she was, seduced by the details.

"Hey babe, what are you doing out here?"

Tilting her head back, Lena smiled adoringly at the brown-eyed detail who had seduced her into slowing down long enough to really see.

"Just appreciating."

Leaning over her, Alex bestowed an upside-down kiss, tasting of mint and coffee and smelling of, well, herself. Lena relished it, accepted the mug held out and scooted over on the bench, hissing at the cold wood against her rear.

"There's room for one more."

Hesitating, because Alex was always busy, she gave into the temptation of cuddles and slipped under the heavy blanket that protected Lena from the wintry air of the porch.

A little time together was always welcome.

 

\----

No one ever came for Bear and by Valentine's Day, he was dressed in his little black bowtie and shirt front and being fussed over for some daytime fun before his humans went off for their own fun down the mountain. They'd tested leaving him with Kara and he seemed to be okay, if not a little mournful, and Elphie kept him occupied by using him as a jungle gym.

He'd remained the sweetest, smartest dog anyone could ask for, eerily intelligent and intuitive and a perfect sidekick to a city mouse doing her best to learn to be a country mouse. Be it grabbing her by a mouthful of the seat of her pants to be dragged indoors when it got to cold, giving her something to fuss over when bored and anxious, or there was that one day in the diner.

A boisterous pack of bro-dudes had tumbled into the diner, hopped up for a day in Paradise and several of them were being… impolite. Bruce the Bear looked like a Doberman for the first time in his life, tense and laser-focused, radiating menace like a bonfire. When one grabbed Lena, the Bear's teeth snapped shut at his hand so close and so hard that the boy squealed. Eliza's exact words were, "get the hell out of my shop, you pigs."

It had escalated so fast none of the people had been able to react as fast as Bear, and yet, the huge dog hadn't hurt the guy, just scared the hell out of him. 

Later, after Lena had been fussed over, Alex laughed and lovingly roughed up their newest packmate. "Look at you go, big boy! Good job! Jon would have been proud at how you handled yourself, because he would have done it just the same way. It's like he sent you himself, eh, Christmas miracle?"

And as far as Lena was concerned, that was exactly what had happened.

\----

It was mid-March before there was a few days break in the hardest winter weather came in the form of a brief warm spell. Only then could the Danvers sisters move up to the lodge palace for real. They had been living there, but only with what they could easily haul with them. And Kara didn't like being far away from her studio.

The massive suite above the garage that had once been Carter's teenage haven was all hers now. With its big northern-facing window and sprawling great-room, it made an excellent studio. They repainted to a warm, pale gray to catch the light and cleared out most of the furniture, though the pool table had to stay put. 

Kara had gestured wildly at the large soda and snack bar when Lena had dragged her up to the suite and insisted she took it. "What am I going to do with that? And a pool table?"

"We'll come keep you company when you're not working. And there must be some sort of signal you could use when you want to be left alone, like a traffic light!"

That had already been installed by the nearby elevator, with a switch inside the suite for Kara to let everyone know whether or not she wanted company. 

The bunkroom that could sleep six had been rearranged to stock the masses of supplies, its adjoining bathroom rendered virtually useless as there was a half-bath for the great-room and an entirely separate bedroom tucked out of sight.

Having seen the bedroom the sisters had shared for most of their lives, Lena could understand their continued awe over the enormous space. Just this one suite was the size of a small house.

The wood canvases would continue to dry in the spaces above the shop and diner, brought up in smaller quantities to the grand house on the ridge to be turned into art. Lena's only demand was that the wood be brushed off completely to keep spiders and dust to a minimum. For the gorgeous, lodge-like space, Kara agreed that was fair. They even had plans to install some sort of lift during the short warm months. That way larger piece could be moved from the garage below.

Always happy to help out her new family, Lena was unpacking books and framed photos onto the built-in bookshelves and storage in the great-room when she stumbled over a gem.

"This is a cute picture."

Alex, who had been forbidden to help as she had a deadline bearing down on her, set aside her papers and frightful old laptop and grinned up at her lover. "What do you have there, gorgeous. Come sit."

Openly delighted with the offer, Lena happily bounced over to the ratty old couch Kara loved and snuggled down into Alex's whipcord strong body to nuzzle at her throat. It felt so impossibly good to be open with this woman and her community, who could care less they were women and that Lena was an outsider.

Nuzzling led to kisses and that low growl of interest that gave Lena a shiver from brain to crotch. Then Alex, the big tease, sat back and asked with absolute aplomb, "what picture?"

For a long moment, they stared one another down. Alex snerked first, setting off Lena's giggle. Giving her a playful shove, Lena held the framed photo where it could be seen, unsurprised when Alex laughed. It was an adorable golden retriever puppy half reclined on a pillow… and wearing a blue and white striped onesie. The whole thing made the pup look almost eerily human and so ridiculously cute that it was hard to believe.

Clearing her throat noisily, Alex spoke in a stage whisper a half decibel below 'shout'. "Why, that's Kara's best baby picture!"

Right on cue, Kara's voice bellowed out from her new bedroom around the corner.

"Alex!"

NOTES  
theillogicalthinker: OMG I LOVE HER  
Shatterpath: adorbs, right?  
theillogicalthinker: So adorable. Alex sassing her baby sister is so good  
Shatterpath: i like their growing up together from a young age  
theillogicalthinker: I love it so much too

 

\----

The Luthors had a couple of the Slatewater's rooms converted into an apartment after finagling with the city for a couple of months over zoning. After hesitating for about three days, Jess packed up and moved, falling for the Emerald City just as so many did before her. She alternated back and forth on a semi-weekly basis between the Slatewater apartment and the lodge in Midvale.

The young city kids enervated Cat's urban roots and that spread out to the whole town. Cat remained in the big house in one of the smaller rooms, overseeing the reshuffling of furniture and sundries and soaking up the change in energies. Sam took over Lena's apartment in New York, a professional company packing up her things to await warmer weather. Though a few dozen boxes were sent ahead so that Lena and Alex could start integrating their things. 

Jeremiah brought them up from Packwood on a supply run, laughing about his overstuffed truck, and helped the girls carry them up to the outrageous master suite.

It felt completely strange to Lena to see a cross-section of her familiar things in the closet where much of Alex's wardrobe had migrated to. Frankly, she still gravitated to those comfortable things, rather than her old life. Still, Alex had no complaints of a private show of lacy underwear and stiletto heels. Nor the sexy shenanigans that had her missing an entire afternoon of work.

Pleased with her ambush, Lena went to use the restroom and remembered something else that had been brought up from Packwood. Slipping through the discrete door at the back of the shower that led to the outrageous closet-- and silently thanking Cat for the shortcut-- she grabbed a box to bring back with her. 

"I have something for you, Alex," she called out as she ripped at tape and pulled out a familiar object from the bubble wrap within. 

"Oh yeah?"

The playful tone faltered as Alex automatically raised her hands to accept the thing being held out.

"It's an old laptop of mine."

Alex looked at the machine in her hand, visibly uncomfortable. "Lena, I…"

Having expected the hesitation, Lena explained herself, tone carefully neutral. "Look, I promise you I'm not trying to interfere how you live, Alex. But it only cost me eighty bucks to fix that, plus thirty to have it shipped back and forth. It only needed to be professionally cleaned and a power button replaced. That's why I still had it." Gentling, she sat beside her lover and looked at her hands, twisting nervously in her lap. "For my whole life, I've been able to just replace things whenever I need to, and I'm hoping to change that." She made herself look at Alex, smile tremulous. "And, seriously, that laptop of yours is a nightmare."

Alex knew she was going to have to take the neutral ground here and accept the gift for what it was, a practical and thoughtful solution. Her slow smile made Lena sag a bit with relief and willingly throw herself into the offered embrace, laptop forgotten for the moment. 

"Thank you, love."

There was a lot of that as they learned one another; a constant push and pull of boundaries and adaptations. And they weren't always good at it either. A couple of rows had Alex back in her apartment next to the shop, which had become her office. Lena holed up with Kara, small and miserable and bristly with high emotion.

Kara just wanted to sigh at them.

But they fell back together, talked and cried and made up, tending to the emotional wounds and vowing to do better. The good times far outweighed the bad, even when it took real effort to do so.

Alex took being an actual girlfriend and not player to heart, altering her priorities to spend time with her new half. Her hours became much closer to nine to five and she took every third or fourth day off, barring emergencies. In doing so, she found a calm, an ease in herself that felt good. With her being such a central figure in Midvale, that rippled outward and the whole town felt it.

Kara loved having them both close, finding a new rapport with her sister, a deeper closeness. And for all her protective bluster in the beginning, she quickly found a best friend in Lena. 

They spent much of their free time together in the sprawling suite/studio above the garage, chatting, playing cards, doing jigsaw puzzles, reading and of course, working. Lena was fascinated with her pal's creative process, the absolute concentration of her whole body when Kara was really into it. Elphie was happy with the extra attention and the vastness of the house she was allowed free rein in. Lena still blanched at her habit of jumping up onto the counters, but did her best to just let it go. And use a bit of Lysol here and there. 

Kara's adorable habit of dressing up the animals bled over to Lena, some of Steve's old things handed down to Bear. Well, the stretchier ones anyway. The Doberman really was a big animal. To accommodate him, Lena had Jess order her some books on animal clothes, and borrowed a sewing machine from Mrs. Sanchez that had lain dormant for years, a casualty of arthritic hands.

The pleasantly domestic task was relaxing and quiet, the hum of the machine not bothering Kara at all, and pretty soon a whole corner of the studio was dedicated to Lena's endeavors. Elphie and the three dogs were her models, decked out in slouchy hoodies and wedding finery. 

Alex just shook her head at the endearing ridiculousness of it all and doled out compliments and caresses. It might be extravagant and even a bit silly, but it made her girl happy and that was all that mattered to her. 

When the collection got to be too much, Alex gently suggested asking Chris if she'd like to put a few pieces up in her shop. Lena was thrilled with the idea and pretty soon had hashed out an easy deal of a fifty/fifty split with their pal.

And the first time Chris handed her a check for seven dollars, Lena lit up like she had won the lottery.

\----

Lena didn't always have the energy for the social hub that was the diner's massive hearth, but it was there she felt most keenly the sense of community she hadn't even known she craved so deeply. In the weird cross-section of humanity that braved the harsh mountain winters, she found little things she liked and didn't like in them, and they were mostly kind and helpful while she acclimated to their little town. 

In turn, she reminded them of the wonders around them, of the deep appreciation of community, of just being in the moment. She even gradually and completely subconsciously managed to persuade Eliza and Jeremiah to take a weekly night off and trek up to the lodge for a quiet family night. It quickly became known that Thursdays were not town social nights at the big house.

She bought her own UTV and tricked it out with a sturdy canopy and sound system and yes, tank treads. She learned to drive a snowmobile and listened avidly to the life lessons of how to survive in the extreme climate around her. 

It was completely endearing to the townsfolk and they missed her on her periodic trips out to Seattle. 

Alex took over half of the garage with her woodworking tools, completely fascinating Lena with the processes. If she wasn't hanging out in the studio above with Kara, she would often be watching her lover work with those strong, dexterous hands. 

When at last spring truly arrived with warming temperatures and flocks of songbirds, the biggest drama of living in a small mountain town was eliminated. The information tower was an ugly, utilitarian thing, but only the periodic hiker would ever see it. From the steel structure was hung communication device: microwave, satellite, radio, television. And most importantly, internet. At last, Lena could feel in touch with the world beyond this wild, isolated place, speak in video to her family and friends back in the city that had nurtured her. 

With her things delivered from New York, mixed into a beautifully chaotic symphony with Alex and Kara and the community around them, at last…

Lena felt completely at home.

 

\----

Alex collected Lena one gorgeous spring day, to pile her up into Sweetie and they went for a little drive. To Lena's fear and surprise, the task was to retrieve the enormous cedar that had crushed her car.

There was something cathartic in the task. She manned the crane while Alex rappelled down to delicately hack away at the tree until pieces of it could be winched up and set on the trailer to be hauled away. Once Alex was satisfied there was no danger of the creek being clogged up by the mess, she returned to the truck.

But not without a surprise.

"I didn't spot anything else I could salvage down there, but here, I did manage to get these."

It was her larger piece of luggage… and more importantly, her satchel bag.

With the loss of her notes, Lena hadn't really felt the pull towards continuing to pen stories. All that work lost to a random act of violence had shaken her muse deeply.

But here was her sweet, adoring lover, smile sweet, holding the wet, filthy satchel that might, just might, have some of her words still intact inside it. Tears welled up and she gently set it on Sweetie's bed to wrap herself around Alex and kiss her, long and slow.

With the help of the sisters and Cat, Lena managed to salvage about half her notes. It required floating the papers apart in a sink full of warm water with just a touch of bleach in it, then quickly laying them out on an army of towels so that a couple of hairdryers could be played over them. While she set to work transcribing, Alex took up her own task.

When Alex had first taken to the woodworking, it had only been to help Kara. And while she enjoyed it, she had never let it become completely personal. Though the work she had put into this fancy house --her own touch and Jon's in every corner-- now being something she could live in and appreciate on the daily was a real thrill. That feeling, and the roughly chopped pieces of the cedar that brought Lena to her, inspired Alex. 

She hid her new project away behind some cobbled-together screens and shooed Lena away from peeking. "If you do, you'll ruin your surprise. But come see what I have started over here!"

With a chainsaw mill she cut slabs, taking care to save the place where she found the chewed up wood that had hammered the rental Subaru. It was a weekend chore to mock up a kiln to dry the pieces in, using the warming sun and a bit of propane to hurry it along. Then, with the garage doors open to let in the beautiful weather, Alex set to work.

In the spare moments of her busy life, Alex worked on the project. It was amusing to watch Lena pout over not being able to see, but since the gift was for her, well really, both of them, she remained on the other side of the screen.

There were a great many distractions that kept Alex from finishing up, but she didn't mind. With the arrival of good weather, there were a whole laundry list of things that had to be taken care of. Infrastructure to be checked over, townsfolk to help out as they returned from the warmer lands to the south, a beautiful countryside to introduce her girlfriend to. 

For the most part, she left off getting familiarized with the new flood of modern technology come into town, simply because she was short on time. When the cold returned, she would make the time. While warmth embraced them, she could forego sleeves and worry about the elements trying to kill her and take care of all the things that needed doing for Midvale. 

Lena even managed to coax her away for a couple of weekends. A spunky little RV made the trips a pleasure and first the dry heat of the desert, and then later, the warm brininess of the ocean, gave them new experiences to bond them closer.

So, unsurprisingly, it was growing cold once more before Alex finished her project.

"Come on, love, you have to trust me," she coaxed as she led Lena into their bedroom, walking backwards and tugging lightly at her hands. Playfully pretending to be reluctantly, Lena looked coy and bit at her lower lip.

"Is this about your mysterious project?"

"Maaaaybe. You've been really great and patient while I finished it, and while there's nothing specifically important about today, except that I've told everyone in town, including Kara, to leave us be for a few days, well, here."

Alex's nervous rambling tapered off as she led Lena past the display alcoves and their eclectic collection of art, past the big sitting room and its kitchenette and the spiral staircase and the bathroom door. There, past the dividing wall that separated the sleeping area from the rest of the suite, Alex let Lena go and waited for her reaction.

Now, Lena had immersed herself into small town mountain life, but the extreme rustic nature of live-edge décor was not her favorite thing. Except that Alex had gone above and beyond for her. It was a bench and narrow table and, when she stepped further into the room, an enormous headboard that filled the wall, all of it a gorgeous, warm reddish wood. 

"Yes," Alex said, quietly, almost reverently. "That is the tree that brought you to me."

The headboard was a single, huge slice, the thicker end hinting at where the wood had once twisted its shape into roots. It glistened like glass and the scent of it drifted in the still air of the room.

"You even had the good taste to hit a cedar, so I left the back of the headboard and the underside of the bench and table unsealed so the smell could be noticeable. I put in some of my ironwork to give the furniture pieces a little elegance. I wanted something for just you and me to all our own. Call it an early anniversary present."

Overwhelmed, Lena grabbed her sweet, adoring face and kissed her wildly. With a shout and much giggling, they lost their balance and crashed, flailing, onto the bed.

"God, I love you, you adorable, sentimental bean!" Lena cried, eyes awash with happy tears. "You turned the tree that almost squashed me into beautiful, functional art!"

"I did. And there's tons more of the stuff if you have any requests."

"Well, this fancy four-poster frame of mine is nice, but it's really to formal for this space. Maybe there's some sort of frame you could make to go with that gorgeous headboard?"

"Done. Maybe even bed stands to match if I bump up my skills a bit."

"Well, winter is coming back, so you'll have plenty of time, my love. In the meantime, do you think I could thank you properly?"

"Oh, I bet you could persuade me…"

With kisses and caresses and adoring words, they came together to the scent of cedar, their love a nearly tangible thing.

 

THE END and yet, THE BEGINNING

Farewell, from the idyllic mountain town of Midvale!


End file.
